The top billing for the weekend is not one but two critical matches that coincidentally are Mersey-North London battles.
The more famous of these two battles though will be fought in the city of Liverpool as the Reds host the Gunners (Saturday, 8.45pm).
For the Arsenal, the trip to Anfield is perhaps the start of the most difficult scheduled two-month period in history.
The loss of Aaron Ramsey (injury) and Mathieu Flamini (suspension) is diminished in cruciality as Liverpool will be missing their midfield lynchpin Lucas Leiva.
The comfortable 2-0 home win back in November would not surprise anyone this time around, especially if Brendan Rogers insists on continuing his midfield experimentation. Playing three up front against an away side adept at counter-attacking with pace is not always a recipe for success.
The strike partnership of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge are devastating. However, Arsenal have no real reason to fear them.
After all, the Gunners' defence are the only ones in the English Premier League to have successfully kept a clean-sheet against this prolific striking duo this season. That is, the only one out of 11 matches that Suarez and Sturridge played together this season.
The partnership of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker at the heart of the Arsenal defence is as steady as ever. They even recently achieved the unique record of going over two years without having lost a single EPL match when partnering each other at the back (for a full 90 minutes, sending offs and substitutions notwithstanding).
It would be vital for Brendan Rogers to emphasise stretching out play – forcing fullbacks Nacho Monreal and Bacary Sagna into one-on-one situations with Raheem Sterling and Sturridge, which allows Suarez the space to operate between the two Arsenal holding midfielders and both central defenders.
Attacking the second ball will be key and one would hope Steven Gerrard finds himself in a position to attack these opportunities, if and when they crop up. His devastating shooting ability from distance could very well make the difference in this fixture – if Liverpool manage to stop the goals from leaking in at the other end, that is.
Six goals conceded in the last four Premier League matches for Brendan Rogers's men (albeit with the caveat of 12 goals scored) is concerning chiefly because the goals came against mid-table sides involved in a massive relegation battle.
In summary, individual errors have to be minimised if Liverpool are to hold out against an organised Arsenal onslaught.
In the reverse North London-Mersey encounter this weekend (Sunday, 9.30pm), my thoughts are if this is a do or die tie for Tottenham Hotspur and Everton in their quest for the 4th spot in the Premier League?
There may still be three more months of football to go, but this is a game Spurs must win. A game that could prove pivotal to the future of the club after all the investment made.
Unfortunately, circumstances count for nought as Tim Sherwood is in charge and will take responsibility, as much as it would be unfair, if results go south.
The game of football at White Hart Lane will be exciting, an offensive 4-4-2 lining up against a ball playing 4-2-3-1, but the result has to favour Spurs or another team from the city of Liverpool will be in the driver's seat for the much coveted ticket into UEFA Champions League qualification.
Looking beyond the lucrative top-four race, at the overall league table, we can see that the top nine has practically been decided and there are now 11 teams battling to avoid relegation. A mere five points separates Aston Villa in 10th and West Ham United in 18th.
And why, you might ask, is the situation so tight at the bottom? Well, it is because owners have been brave in making managerial changes.
Yes, three clubs will still go down but sure as hell, it will be one mighty battle. On the subject of battles, even wilting West Ham United have woken up.
So, hats off to the owners for making brave decisions, with Michael Laudrup being the latest manager to be shown the door. Hopefully, Swansea City will make the right choice in appointing Laudrup's successor as their brand of football has been refreshing despite having Jonjo Shelvey in their side.
Seven managers have been shown the door during this season alone, and six of the seven teams they departed from are involved in a relegation-dogfight for the rest of the season. The Premier League may be lacking in some aspects, but drama and narrative is never one of them. – February 7, 2014.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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