Tottenham's Europa League battles on Thursdays have ruined the team's League outings owing to the meagre two-day break between games. The team has now lost five out of seven matches when returning to the League after playing in Europe. A match against relegation-threatened Cardiff City might not have come at a better time, but a loss for the Spurs will not surprise many.
Jose Mourinho’s disappointment with his strike force continues to increase steadily, but even the League’s worst defense in Fulham might not bring some solace to this situation as Samuel Eto'o and Fernando Torres continue to be notoriously inconsistent and Demba Ba hardly gets a chance to play, let alone impress.
Suarez has not scored in his last five games and has netted only once in the last six League matches he played – a strike against Everton in his team’s stunning 4-0 victory. While hitting top form as soon as he was back from a suspension he has recently been playing second fiddle to a brilliant Sturridge. Suarez’s scoreless streak might continue against a Southampton team looking to put behind a disappointing loss against West Ham United.
Stoke City is known for the physical element of its game, and the team is dead-last in the League’s official fair play table. Charlie Adam’s strikes against United lifted the entire team, but two draws and a difficult loss against City would not mean that Arsenal will have it easy at the Britannia Stadium. It would be another test for Mesut Ozil, whose aversion for rough opponents would surely come into strong focus against Stoke. Will Yaya Sanogo get another start under his belt?
West Ham had a phenomenal month of February as Sam Allardyce’s squad finally put together a string of impressive displays and catapulted themselves into the top 10. A game against Roberto Martinez’s Everton will put West Ham’s revival to the test and if Kevin Nolan and company come away with another spectacular victory against the Toffees, the players can safely put relegation fears out of their mind and concrete on climbing up the ladder.
