THIS weekend’s football should be the best of the season so far.
The big teams, who are excused the Carling Cup, have had a week to prepare for these games, so they should be fitter, stronger, more fluent in their passing.
Even Liverpool, who had to play a catch-up Premiership game against Newcastle. They won 2-0 with the hard-working Kuyt scoring his first goal. A big result which sets them up for a win against Spurs tomorrow.
Arsenal should be sharper than they were at Old Trafford, where they won 1-0 last Sunday.
When Arsene Wenger has five days preparation for a game, Arsenal are always ready to roll at 3pm on a Saturday and his team usually churns out goal attempts like a conveyor belt.
In those five days he strips down his engine and rebuilds it to achieve maximum performance. He tweaks and tinkers, organises a few practice laps, gets his world class machine ready to roar into action at 3pm on Saturday.
If I’m right about that, Arsenal will rip Sheffield United to shreds on Saturday.Thierry Henry is back and will be among the scorers.
WHEN SHEFFIELD UNITED were promoted I wondered whether they had any Premiership players.
Managed by Neil Warnock, coached by Brian Kidd, who rejected Roy Keane’s offer at Sunderland, they are bottom of the table after losing 2-1 at home to Reading, who have three Premiership-quality players in former Arsenal midfielder Steve Sidwell, Irish striker Kevin Doyle, and useful Korean Seol Ky-Hyeon.
However, the Arsenal team is still a work-in-progress, as are most teams right now.
REAL MADRID is a case in point.
New president Ramon Calderon has said he wants Jose Antonio Reyes to stay for seven years. He said the Reyes – Baptista loan swap but done at the last minute but the transfer fees for permanent deals had already been agreed.
Reyes has replaced David Beckham as the starting right winger and scored their first goal last week with a free-kick over the Racing Santander wall. Beckham then came on as a sub and broke away after Madrid defended a corner and slotted a one-on-one chance very professionally.
Coach Fabio Capello has told Calderon that eight players will always play if they are fit, and the others will rotate.
Being Italian, Capello insists on defensive stability, so the back five, plus Emerson and Diarra, plus Ruud van Nistelrooy, will always play.
Therefore Reyes, Beckham, Robinho, Cicinho, Ronaldo, Raul and Guti will be in and out of the side. One of the big problems in their decadent team was that the local boys, Raul and Guti, are not good enough. Capello will know that better than anybody.
The Spanish League is always interesting and this week the best team in the world is playing the best team in Spain.
BARCELONA v VALENCIA is on Sky Sports 2 on Sunday at 8pm.
Valencia have Vicente back on the left after nine months out, Morientes is scoring in almost every game, David Villa is deadly, and the speed-merchant Joaquin has arrived from Betis.
Renowned as a defensive outfit under Ranieri, Cuper and Benitez, Valencia have more firepower these days. The Nou Camp is a big opportunity for them.