Rowdy Home Crowds Will Impact Weekend Premier League Matches

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The English Premier League is back. After an international break, the ninth round of fixtures has a few matches that’ll make for eye-catching viewing.

Manchester United vs Liverpool

This is, without a doubt, the biggest matchup of the weekend. On Sunday, this is more than just a football match, this is a fixture between neighboring cities that quite frankly don’t like each other. The history is volatile and the noise and atmosphere will be different than nearly every other match.

Liverpool ruled the winning position in the late ’70s and throughout the ’80s – then United firmly knocked Liverpool off their perch and dominated for decades under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson.

All the key info for Sunday's game 👇#MUFC #MUNLIV

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 17, 2019

Liverpool have recently had a resurgence with Jurgen Klopp at the helm, whilst United have searched for the right replacement since Sir Alex retired.

The Mancunians are spending large sums of money on players that haven’t lived up to the hype, along with managers that arrived with big reputations and underwhelmed. United are a mess, and that is putting it nicely. I don’t think the man in the dugout, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the answer.

The match itself can allow form to go out of the window, and more often than not the team who battles harder wins. United made a habit of winning ugly when they had to. Liverpool, in recent seasons, occasionally learned to do that.

🚨 Injury news on @D_DeGea 👇#MUFC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 15, 2019

United were dealt a massive blow on Tuesday as David de Gea limped out of Spain’s match with Sweden. His injury leaves huge doubts for his ability to participate on Sunday.

Liverpool’s workmanlike midfield will match anyone in the league for energy. The Reds will again look towards Mane, Salah and Firmino to fire them to all three points and make it 27 points out of a possible 27.

I don’t want to dismiss United, but with the players they have missing and the lack of ideas on the pitch, I can only see one winner.

PREDICTION: Liverpool, 2-0

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City

This is the Saturday 10:30 a.m. kick-off, live on KSL 5, the Premiere TV matchup. This is an incredibly intriguing fixture.

On paper, City should win this match. The reality is that Palace’s stadium, Selhurst Park, is one of the more intimidating locations in the EPL.

City are a phenomenal team and currently 2nd in the table. However, they are coming off the back of a 2-0 loss to the Wolves before the international break. This is where Palace come into their element. They aren’t a fashionable side, nor do they play the most attractive football; but they can be stubborn, resilient and physical. They currently sit in sixth position and just two points behind the reigning champions of England. They’ll be looking at this as an opportunity to have another big team scalp.

Back with the boys and ready for the games coming up. No Fear 🦁 Let’s get it 👍🏽 ✅ pic.twitter.com/ptailKE4xp

— Patrick van Aanholt (@pvanaanholt) October 17, 2019

City are going through an injury crisis, but they will still be a tough opponent, every player knows the expected style of play it’s just sometimes the execution that has let them down. Palace’s talisman, Wilf Zaha, is starting to come into some form after a slow start to the season. The much sought after Ivorian takes great pleasure in matching himself against the best. Kyle Walker, if he starts for City, will have his hands full. All eyes will be on him as he was recently dropped by England at the international level.

When it’s all said and done, I think Palace have a chance to win, even though it is a slim chance. There is no doubt in my mind that Man City will have a response after the previous defeat. This really could be a wonderful watch.

I’m going to go with my head rather than my heart on this one.

PREDICTION: Manchester City, 3-1

Sheffield United vs Arsenal

Monday night’s match will finish out the ninth round of fixtures, and this article. There were a few other games that I was tempted to preview, but Sheffield United stood out.

Bramall Lane, the home of Sheffield United has a similar feel to most old fashioned English stadiums. The crowd is close to the pitch where the Arsenal players will clearly hear what the Sheffield faithful think of them.

Sheffield adopted a 3-5-2 formation, a little different than we are used to. It was highly effective in the Championship and whilst they haven’t really made a blistering start to the season, they have certainly found their feet and are in the middle of the pack. Using their wing-backs on either flank to provide width in the attack or defense has certainly made them an unpredictable opponent. They gave Liverpool all they could handle a few weeks back.

Good news 🗞@LacazetteAlex is back in full training 😄

More from our medical team 👇

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 17, 2019

Arsenal are in a similar position to Sheffield. They haven’t really pulled up any trees with their performances, yet they sit third in the league. They are a point behind Man City and unbeaten in their last five league matches.

Imagine if Arsenal really put a balanced team together? Arsenal are a little inconsistent and the project might take a little longer to get back to the Arsène Wenger glory days, but Unai Emery is building something, slow and steady.

The firepower and speed Arsenal possess will give Sheffield a few nightmare moments, but the Blades will battle them in the center of the park.

Arsenal can be a soft touch, and Sheffield will look to exploit that. However, the way Arsenal are grinding out results, even if they aren’t playing a fluid brand of soccer, has to be respected. I just think United might snag a point here, under the floodlights at a boisterous Bramall Lane.

PREDICTION: Tie