With only 12 matches left this season, the current top 6 teams will be fighting for the Champions League spots, namely Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.

Manchester United are 12 points clear of defending champions and second-placed Manchester City, and could possibly become champions if they manage to win at least 7 out of their last 12 PL games.

So, the remaining 5 teams will battle for next 3 places. Let’s analyse each team’s fixtures:

Arsenal:

Yet another struggling season for Wenger’s boys, as they are out in Capital One Cup and the EPL. They are still in the Champions League and the FA Cup. They have to face Blackburn in the FA Cup quarterfinals this weekend, and German giants Bayern Munich in the round of 16 first leg on Feb 19th.

Their current form is good, with the signing of Nacho Monreal, and the form of Walcott and Wilshere all helping the team perform well.

The Gunners have to play Tottenham away, and Everton and Manchester United at home, out of the the top six teams.

Possible Results:

A draw against the Spurs and United, and a win against Everton. 5 points in 3 games.

Chelsea:

They are out of the Capital One Cup, Premier League and Champions League. However, they are still in contention for the Europa League and FA Cup titles. They will face Sparta Prague in the round of 32 of the Europa League, and play the pre-quarters return leg against Brentford in the FA Cup. Torres is yet to find his form, while winter signing Ba continues to impress.

Chelsea will play Manchester City and United away, and Tottenham and Everton at home.

Possible Results:

A loss at Old Trafford, a win against Everton and draws with City and Spurs. A total of 5 points out of the 12 on offer.

Everton:

The Toffees have no Capital One Cup, no PL and no European participation. They are still in the FA Cup, and will face Oldham Athletic in Round 5. Their form is not very impressive, and will have to fight harder if they want a CL spot. They lack in the squad depth, which is the main reason for their regular decline in the final part of the season.

Everton will play Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham away, and Manchester City at home.

Possible Results:

They are expected to lose against each of those teams. So, they will get 0/12 points.

Manchester City:

They have exited all the major competitions except the FA Cup. They will face Leeds United in the FA Cup quarters. Their performances this season have been in no way comparable to last season’s. They have a better squad with good depth on the bench,but have lost against mid-table teams, thereby hurting their title chances. City still have an outside chance of wining the Premier League, but need a miracle for that to happen.

Manchester City will play Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium, and Everton, Manchester United and Tottenham away.

Possible Results:

A win against Merseyside team Everton, draws against the London teams, and a loss against their arch-rivals. So 5/12 points.

Tottenham:

Last season they managed to finish fourth, but unfortunately could not qualify for the Europe’s elite competition. They are currently fourth in the table, just 4 points ahead of their local rivals, while at the same time last season they were 10 points ahead, but still finished behind Arsenal. They are playing Lyon in the Europa League Round of 32 tie.

Tottenham will play Arsenal, Manchester City and Everton at home, and Chelsea away.

Possible Results:

A win against City and draws against the others, to make a total of 6/12 points.

After playing these games,the table would be:

Date: 23th September.

Venue: The Etihad Stadium.

Referee: Mike Dean.

Team Form

Manchester City:

Manchester City have already slipped once in 5 matches and have shown a certain degree of fallibility conceding 9 goals, and losing once in all competitions.The only and latest defeat came on Tuesday night against unstable Spanish champions Real Madrid. City were leading twice and lost the game. At no point did they dictate the game. This is not a good start for a team which is going to defend the Premiership. City’s defence is not as strong as last season and midfield too. Their defence will have to face an acid test against the Arsenal front four. Aguero is expected to start on the bench. But their strikers haven’t failed to score in the campaign.

Arsenal:

Though it is not a dream start for Arsenal, but it’s far better than last season. At the same time last season, they had conceded 10 goals and scored 4. This time they have three clean sheets and have netted 8 times in four PL games. Arsenal were the only team to not concede a goal after three matches in top four English leagues. Steve Bould is the man behind Arsenal’s defensive success. New boy Santi Cazorla had demonstrated his class to the footballing world, he looked such a complete player.

Another new addition Lucas Podolski failed to score in the first two matches, but his first goal for the season came at Anfield and against Saints he proved his class by  scoring a stunning 25 yard free kick. Gervinho is looking dangerous in the last couple of games, and he scored the winner in CL tie against Montpellier. The problem for Arsene Wenger is the so called replacement for last season Golden boot holder RVP, Oliver Giroud. He is struggling to adapt in the Premier League; last season’s Ligue 1 top scorer is yet to find the net for Arsenal.

Probable Line up:

Manchester City:

Hart (GK),
Maicon, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy,
Yaya Toure, Garcia
Silva, Tevez, Milner
Dzeko.

Arsenal:

Mannone (GK),
Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs
Arteta, Diaby
Cazorla
Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gervinho, Podolski

My Prediction:

Manchester City 1-2 Arsenal

One of the important feature of the complex will allow ground staff to change the grass on one of the pitches so that it matches the surface City will play their next away game on.

The arena is almost equivalent to five Etihads and consists of:

 - A stadium that can accommodate 7,000 people for youth and reserve games.

- 16 full-size pitches,including one indoors.

- A 400-player Academy with classrooms for 200 pupils.

- On-site accommodation for junior and senior players.

- A state-of-the-art first-team building complete with injury and rehab centre.

- A bridge linking the Etihad to the site.

City’s football development executive Vieira said: “What I find really exciting about the project is that before designing the facilities, they have been to the football world, the basketball world and the NFL world. I believe it is the best project in all of sport because people have travelled the world to capture the best in every sport and bring it here. It is a long-term commitment and I am really excited about it because once you see the pictures you can’t wait for the work to start.”

Its a long term project, expected to complete in 4 years and involved extensive research into 30 top sporting complexes around the world. Let’s see how much will the complex help them over the rivals.

The demo version of FIFA 13 is already out and it can be downloaded from the EA Sports website. Continuing with our series on club player ratings, today we look at Arsenal.

 
Here is the rating :-

Goal Keepers:

Szczesny -79

Fabianski -76

Mannone -70

Defenders:

Sagna -80

Jenkinson -62

Yennaris -60

Gibbs -78

Santos -79

Djourou -75

Koscielny -82

Vermaelen -82

Mertasacker-78

Squillaci -72

Mid Fielders:

Diaby -72

Rosicky -80

Arteta -78

Wilshere -79

Ramsey -79

Arshavin -82

Coquelin -69

Frimpong -69

Attackers:

Podolski -83

Giroud -83

Walcott -81

AOC -75

Gervinho -81

Chamakh -77

Note: The rating has been taken from the FIFA 13 Demo(Official).

Nuri Sahin

The most anticipated loan saga of the transfer window was who was going to acquire the Real Madrid midfielder’s services. A number of clubs were linked with the Turkish international, but in the end he opted to join Liverpool. This is the second loan move of his career, having previously spent a season at Feyenoord whilst playing for Borussia Dortmund. Sahin had a very successful spell in the Bundesliga, winning the award for player of the season in the 2010/11 season. It was his performances for the German club that prompted his £10m move to Real Madrid.

His first season in Spanish football was hampered by injury, with the midfielder only managing to make 10 appearances in all competitons. He now joins Liverpool, where he will be able to play football at the highest level and get back to fitness, whilst in the meantime shoring up the midfield. He is the type of player to dictate play, and start an attack. He isn’t a goal scoring midfielder by any means, but what he lacks in goals, he makes up for with his link up play and range of passing.

Andy Carroll

The £35m Liverpool striker immediately found himself out of favour with new manager, Brendan Rodgers, so has been shipped out to West Ham United for the season. After enjoying a relatively successful Euro 2012 with England, and finishing last season by scoring some vital goals for the Merseyside club, many thought that the striker had finally found his feet after the big money move from Newcastle United. Previous boss, Kenny Dalglish, stuck buy the player they splashed the cash on, but it was soon clear that Rodgers did not rate the forward.

Carroll is the perfect target man for the Hammers, with the style that Sam Allardyce instructs his side to play. Letting him leave Liverpool could be a bad decision, with Fabio Borini and Luis Suarez the only senior strikers in the squad. But for West Ham, an on form Carroll could be the key to helping them survive their first season back in the Premier League.

Fabio Da Silva

The Brazilian full back has left Manchester United and joined Queens Park Rangers for the 2012/13 season. Since making his Manchester United debut in 2008, Fabio has always been second choice behind his twin brother, Rafael. With this being the case, Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to allow the 22 year old to go on loan to get some much needed playing time. This could work out to be a very good deal for all those involved; Fabio gets first team football, QPR gain an energetic full back to help them retain Premier League status for another season, and Manchester United get to see their youngster gain experience at the highest level.

Romelu Lukaku

The Belgium international was brought to Stamford Bridge with massive potential, and with a price tag that could still rise to £18m, a lot is expected of him. After making his debut for Anderlect just 11 days after turning 16, he went on to make 98 appearances in all competitions, scoring 41 goals. He made his international debut in 2010, and has racked up 16 caps already; and he is still only 19 years old. He failed to live up to high expectations during his first season at Chelsea, making just 12 appearances and not scoring in all competitions. He probably would have featured more if it wasn’t for injuries throughout the season. However, West Bromwich Albion have landed the powerful striker on loan for the season, which will give The Baggies some much needed strength up front, and give the young striker Premier League experience.

Yossi Benayoun

The Israeli midfielder has returned to West Ham on loan from Chelsea, making it his second spell at Upton Park. After proving a huge success amongst the West Ham faithful in his first spell at the club from 2005-2007, the fans must surely be excited to see a former idol return to pull on the claret and blue shirt again. Having joined Chelsea from Liverpool in 2010, he has struggled to hold down a regular first team place, making just 12 appearances in a blue shirt. This prompted the midfielder to join Arsenal on loan last season, where he played in 25 games and scored 8 goals for the London club. His stay at The Emirates was successful. However, he finds himself way down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, where the midfield has been strengthened by the arrivals of Eden Hazad, Marco Marin, Victor Moses, and Oscar. First team football will be available to him at the Boleyn Ground, in front of fans who adore him.

Danny Rose

Since joining Tottenham Hotspur from Leeds United in 2007, Danny Rose has had his fair share of loan deals. His season long move to Sunderland is the 4th in the 22 year old’s career to date, having previously spent time at Watford, Peterborough United, and Bristol City. After becoming a household name by scoring a wonder goal on his debut in the North London derby against Arsenal, Rose has struggled for first team football. He can play anywhere on the left side of the pitch, as he proved in the summer Olympic Games for Team GB. It is likely that he will be used in the left back position, as that is where most of his playing time for Spurs has come. Sunderland are getting a very pacy player who loves to get forward and whip crosses in.

Harry Kane

After taking over at Tottenham Hotspur this summer, Andre Villas-Boas stated that Harry Kane would be the club’s third choice striker for the season, behind Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe. So it came as a surprise when it was announced that the 19 year old would be joining Norwich City on a season long loan. This is the third loan of his career so far, after enjoying spells at Leyton Orient and Milwall. He was named Milwall’s young player of the season last year, despite only joining the club in January. Kane is rated very highly at White Hart Lane, so this loan move will be a vital spell in his career, to see if he can cut it in the Premier League. He will be able to gain experience playing alongside Grant Holt, who is in a similar mould to Kane.

Ryo Miyaichi

Having spent the second half of last season on loan at Bolton Wanderers, the Arsenal winger has secured a full season on loan at Wigan Athletic. His spell at The Reebok was largely sucessful, with the young Japanese player turning in some impressive displays. He has also enjoyed a successful loan at Feyenoord, where the Dutch media referred to him as “Ryodinho”, in referrence to Ronaldinho. He is a very skillful, pacy winger, who will no doubt help to fill the void left by Victor Moses.

Jonathan de Guzmán

Swansea City have acquired the services of Canadian born midfielder Jonathan de Guzmán from Villareal. He made his debut for Feyenood at the age of 17, after coming up through the youth ranks at the club. He went on to make 127 appearances in all competitions, before moving to Spanish club RCD Mallorca when his contract expired. He then moved to fellow Spanish club Villareal after just one full season at Mallorca, for a fee in the region of £6m. He found first team football hard to come by in 2012 after the appointment of Jose Francisco Molina as manager, and has now subsequently joined Swansea City. He is an attacking midfielder who is renowned for his free kick taking abilities. If he can stay free of injury during his spell at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea could get the very best out of him.

Javier Garrido

Norwich City have signed Lazio left back, Javier Garrido on loan for the season. The former Manchester City player can offer the Canaries Premier League experience, having played 49 times over 3 seasons between 2007-2010. The Spanish defender has spent the previous 2 seasons at Lazio, where he has struggled to hold down a regular first team place. He is a tireless player, who will constantly overlap down the left flank and whip in crosses to the forwards.

That concludes my summary of the major loan signings for Premier League clubs for the beginning of the 2012/13 season. Who will go on to be the biggest success? Time will tell.