Another week and another clean sheet for Arsenal.  RVP proves again that he’s a bit alright but also that he’s a true Dutchman with a bottled penalty under pressure. And Tevez 2012 remains the polar opposite of the 2011 version. Join me over the break for more..<!--more-->

Southampton v Man Utd 2-3

Rodriguez and Do Prado were on the bench as Lambert again impressed. 1 goal and 1 assist as Schneiderlin scored their other. Puncheon also got an assist.

For Utd, Ferdinand was back from injury and De Gea was benched. Kagawa was quiet before getting replaced just after the hour as was Cleverley. Scholes and Nani came on and instantly Utd looked more menacing.  Ferdinand, Nani and Valencia with the assists.  Rafael was again culpable and when Jones(maybe next game) and Smalling come back then one would think he’ll have an almighty battle to keep his place.

The big story was of course RVP who went from the sublime to the ridiculous back to his default position of sublime. His match winning hat-trick (his fourth since 2011) was completed in the 90th min.

West Ham Utd v Fulham 3-0

The writing was on the wall as soon as 54seconds when Nolan opened the scoring. Reid and Taylor also scored. Vaz  Te and Taylor with the assists. Andy Carroll was exceptional before going off with a hammy which will need to be monitored. Nolan in particular seemed to enjoy having Carroll on board.  A dominant display from the Hammers.

The wind has well and truly been knocked out of Fulham’s sails with the loss of Dembele and Dempsey and getting monstered here. New signing Richardson started as did Rodallega. Berbatov and Kacaniklic were subs.

Newcastle v Villa 1-1

Newcastle haven’t quite got going yet this season and were maybe a bit lucky to grab a point. Pardew admitted after the game that Ba and Cisse are a bit underdone, unlike goalscorer Ben Arfa who has been their best player this season.

Paul Lambert dropped Shay Given who sat on the bench with Agbonlahor and N’Zogbia. Ireland, Bannan  and Holman all started. N’Zogbia came on for El-Ahmadi on 72mins. Bannan assisted the goal for Ciaran Clark.

Liverpool v Arsenal 0-2

New signings Podolski and Santi Carzola were the heroes for the Gunners with 1 goal and 1 assist each. Abou Diaby also put in a MOTM performance. Mannone, Mertesacker and Jenkinson continue to cover injuries and rack up clean sheets. Man Utd and Man City don’t have one between them while Arsenal now have three.

Liverpool are in a dark place at the moment. Reina continues to leak goals and Gerrard is looking off the pace. Sterling is one of the few bright lights  as the Reds fight their way through a horrendous run of fixtures.

Wigan v Stoke 2-2

A few goals here with Maloney kicking it off with a 5th min penalty. Kone set up Di Santo for Wigan’s 2nd and he’s now scored 5 goals in 8 games. Walters and Crouch both nabbed a goal and an assist each for Stoke. Stoke new signing Adam started on the bench.

Swansea v Sunderland 2-2

Steven Fletcher was the story here scoring a brace on his debut. Like Carroll for West Ham, Fletcher would appear to be a perfect fit for his new club. Especially with the talented Adam Johnson swinging the ball into him.

For Swansea, Dyer (1 assist) and Routledge (1 goal) showed that they’re not going to give up their spot on the team to Hernandez without a fight. Michu (who else) also got on the scoresheet for his 4th goal in 3 games.

Man City v QPR 3-1

I was looking forward to this one after last season’s last-day drama in this fixture. With Aguero still out it was up to Tevez to pick up the baton and pick it up he did. Another goal and 2 assists as Tevez  continues to show  some outstanding form . Toure was excellent as always and scored as did Dzeko.

Cliché remains benched while Silva came back into the first XI. Kolo Toure came on for Zabaleta after 74mins.

QPR made more wholesale changes. New signing Granero started as did Johnson, Zamora, Nelsen and Bosingwa. Cisse was on the bench.

Spurs v Norwich

Gallas again started next to Vertonghen while Adebayor and Dembele weren’t introduced until the 2nd half replacing Sigurdsson and Sandro. Dembele was excellent and scored, Defoe with the assist. Norwich scored through summer signing Robert Snodgrass with Pilkington again the supplier in a decent performance.

41yr old Brad Friedel was superb in his 307th consecutive PL game but new signing Lloris might bring that run to an end shortly. Spurs looked decent enough but maybe lacked a cutting edge.

I was really hoping that Spurs would pump Norwich as Spurs fan and TS regular TopHeavy was at the game. Hope you enjoyed it buddy!

WBA v Everton

Mirallas came on for Naismith after 62mins but couldn’t help Everton as West Brom deservedly took all 3pts. Fellaini had Everton’s  best chance.

It was subs Odemwingie and Brunt who came up with the assists for Long and McAuley. West Brom – who had some commentators tipping them for relegation – now have 7pts from 9.

I scored an acceptable 67pts this week, let us know how y’all went.