How would the table look by May 2014?

January 2014 (actual scores in bracket)
Swansea City 1-3 Manchester City (1-3)
Arsenal 4-0 Cardiff City (2-0)
Crystal Palace 1-0 Norwich City (1-1)
Fulham 2-2 West Ham United (2-1)
Liverpool 3-1 Hull City Tigers (2-0)
Southampton 1-1 Chelsea (0-3)
Stoke City 1-2 Everton (1-1)
Sunderland 2-1 Aston Villa (0-1)
West Bromwich Albion 1-3 Newcastle United (1-0)
Manchester United 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (1-2)

Hull City Tigers 2-2 Chelsea (0-2)
Cardiff City 2-1 West Ham United (0-2)
Everton 3-0 Norwich City (2-0)
Fulham 1-1 Sunderland (1-4)
Southampton 3-1 West Bromwich Albion (1-0)
Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Crystal Palace (2-0)
Manchester United 2-1 Swansea City (2-0)
Newcastle United 1-1 Manchester City (0-2)
Stoke City 1-3 Liverpool (3-5)
Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal (1-2)

Sunderland 2-1 Southampton (2-2)
Arsenal 3-1 Fulham (2-0)
Crystal Palace 2-1 Stoke City (1-0)
Manchester City 6-0 Cardiff City (4-2)
Norwich City 1-2 Hull City Tigers (1-0)
West Ham United 1-2 Newcastle United (1-3)
Liverpool 3-1 Aston Villa (2-2)
Swansea City 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur (1-3)
Chelsea 3-1 Manchester United (3-1)
West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Everton (1-1)

Manchester United 3-0 Cardiff City (2-0)
Norwich City 2-2 Newcastle United (0-0)
Southampton 1-1 Arsenal (2-2)
Sunderland 2-1 Stoke City (1-0)
Swansea City 2-2 Fulham (2-0)
Crystal Palace 1-1 Hull City Tigers (1-0)
Liverpool 2-2 Everton (4-0)
Aston Villa 2-1 West Bromwich Albion (4-3)
Chelsea 3-0 West Ham United (0-0)
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Manchester City (1-5)

Actual league table @ 30.01.2014 (points prediction in bracket)
1. Manchester City 53 pts (49)
2. Arsenal 52 pts (52)
3. Chelsea 50 pts (48)
4. Liverpool 46 pts (46)
5. Tottenham Hotspur 43 pts (40)
6. Everton 42 pts (47)
7. Manchester United 40 pts (41)
8. Newcastle United 37 pts (41)
9. Southampton 32 pts (32)
10. Aston Villa 27 pts (23)
11. Swansea City 24 pts (23)
12. Norwich City 24 pts (20)
13. Hull City Tigers 23 pts (28)
14. Crystal Palace 23 pts (23)
15. West Bromwich Albion 22 pts (18)
16. Stoke City 22 pts (21)
17. Sunderland 21 pts (24)
18. West Ham United 19 pts (16)
19. Fulham 19 pts (19)
20. Cardiff City 18 pts (21)

Over-achieved (9):
Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Swansea City, Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City, West Ham United

On par (5):
Arsenal, Liverpool, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Fulham

Under-achieved (6):
Everton, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Hull City Tigers, Sunderland, Cardiff City

Considering that I thought Everton is a top-4 side, actual results seemed to have gone against them, hence making Liverpool the favourite to clinch the final spot in the UCL. Manchester City is looking like title favourites in the form they've shown, hence Wenger may come up short again, but surely not without a fight considering that Draxler may be going to Arsenal.

February 2014
West Ham United 2-1 Swansea City (2-0)
Cardiff City 1-1 Norwich City (2-1)
Everton 3-2 Aston Villa (2-1)
Fulham 1-2 Southampton (0-3)
Hull City Tigers 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur (1-1)
Newcastle United 2-2 Sunderland (0-3)
Stoke City 1-2 Manchester United (2-1)
West Bromwich Albion 0-3 Liverpool (1-1)
Arsenal 3-0 Crystal Palace (2-0)
Manchester City 3-1 Chelsea (0-1)

Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal (5-1)
Aston Villa 1-1 West Ham United (0-2)
Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle United (3-0)
Crystal Palace 1-2 West Bromwich Albion (3-1)
Norwich City 0-4 Manchester City (0-0)
Southampton 2-1 Stoke City (2-2)
Sunderland 1-1 Hull City Tigers (0-2)
Swansea City 2-1 Cardiff City (3-0)
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Everton (1-0)
Manchester United 3-1 Fulham (2-2)

Cardiff City 2-1 Aston Villa (0-0)
Hull City Tigers 1-1 Southampton (0-1)
West Ham United 2-1 Norwich City (2-0)
West Bromwich Albion 1-3 Chelsea (1-1)
Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United (0-0)
Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace (postponed)
Manchester City 3-0 Sunderland (postponed)
Newcastle United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur (0-4)
Stoke City 1-2 Swansea City (1-1)
Fulham 0-4 Liverpool (2-3)

Chelsea 2-2 Everton (1-0)
Arsenal 3-0 Sunderland (4-1)
Cardiff City 2-1 Hull City Tigers (0-4)
Manchester City 4-0 Stoke City (1-0)
West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Fulham (1-1)
West Ham United 1-2 Southampton (3-1)
Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United (0-2)
Liverpool 3-1 Swansea City (4-3)
Newcastle United 2-1 Aston Villa (1-0)
Norwich City 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur (1-0)

March 2014
Aston Villa 2-1 Norwich City (4-1)
Everton 3-1 West Ham United (1-0)
Fulham 2-3 Chelsea (1-3)
Hull City Tigers 1-1 Newcastle United (1-4)
Manchester United 1-3 Manchester City (postponed)
Southampton 2-1 Liverpool (0-3)
Stoke City 0-3 Arsenal (1-0)
Sunderland 1-2 West Bromwich Albion (postponed)
Swansea City 3-1 Crystal Palace (1-1)
Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Cardiff City (1-0)

Arsenal 3-1 Swansea City (postponed)
Cardiff City 1-2 Fulham (3-1)
Chelsea 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur (4-0)
Crystal Palace 1-1 Southampton (0-1)
Liverpool 3-1 Sunderland (postponed)
Manchester City 5-0 Aston Villa (postponed)
Newcastle United 1-1 Everton (postponed)
Norwich City 1-0 Stoke City (1-1)
West Bromwich Albion 1-3 Manchester United (0-3)
West Ham United 2-1 Hull City Tigers (postponed)

Actual league table @ 15.03.2014 (points prediction in bracket)
1. Chelsea 66 pts (61)
2. Liverpool 59 pts (59)
3. Arsenal 59 pts (68)
4. Manchester City 57 pts (67)
5. Tottenham Hotspur 53 pts (48)
6. Manchester United 48 pts (53)
7. Everton 48 pts (59)
8. Newcastle United 43 pts (50)
9. Southampton 42 pts (46)
10. West Ham United 31 pts (26)
11. Aston Villa 31 pts (27)
12. Stoke City 31 pts (21)
13. Hull City Tigers 30 pts (32)
14. Swansea City 29 pts (32)
15. Norwich City 29 pts (24)
16. Crystal Palace 27 pts (24)
17. West Bromwich Albion 25 pts (25)
18. Cardiff City 25 pts (28)
19. Sunderland 24 pts (26)
20. Fulham 21 pts (23)

It's hard to get a clear picture due to the international break and the League Cup final, causing in the postponements in some of the games till much later dates. Anyhow, I don't know why I'm predicting a Manchester United win when Liverpool are looking like title contenders with SAS in their ranks. Anyhow, I ain't gonna change my prediction, but reality may bite.

Aston Villa 1-3 Chelsea (1-0)
Everton 3-0 Cardiff City (2-1)
Fulham 2-1 Newcastle United (1-0)
Hull City Tigers 1-1 Manchester City (0-2)
Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool (0-3)
Southampton 3-0 Norwich City (4-2)
Stoke City 2-1 West Ham United (3-1)
Sunderland 1-1 Crystal Palace (0-0)
Swansea City 2-2 West Bromwich Albion (1-2)
Tottenham Hotspur 2-4 Arsenal (0-1)

Aston Villa 1-2 Stoke City
Cardiff City 0-5 Liverpool (3-6)
Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal (6-0)
Everton 2-1 Swansea City (3-2)
Hull City Tigers 3-1 West Bromwich Albion (2-0)
Manchester City 6-0 Fulham (5-0)
Newcastle United 3-0 Crystal Palace (1-0)
Norwich City 1-0 Sunderland (2-0)
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Southampton (3-2)
West Ham United 1-3 Manchester United (0-2)

Arsenal 2-3 Manchester City
Crystal Palace 0-2 Chelsea
Fulham 0-2 Everton
Liverpool 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United 3-0 Aston Villa
Southampton 3-1 Newcastle United
Stoke City 2-1 Hull City Tigers
Sunderland 1-2 West Ham United
Swansea City 2-1 Norwich City
West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Cardiff City

April 2014
Aston Villa 2-2 Fulham
Cardiff City 1-0 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 3-1 Stoke City
Everton 1-2 Arsenal
Hull City Tigers 2-2 Swansea City
Manchester City 2-1 Southampton
Newcastle United 2-0 Manchester United
Norwich City 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Sunderland
West Ham United 1-4 Liverpool

Arsenal 4-0 West Ham United
Crystal Palace 1-2 Aston Villa
Fulham 2-1 Norwich City
Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City
Manchester United 2-1 Hull City Tigers
Southampton 3-0 Cardiff City
Stoke City 1-1 Newcastle United
Sunderland 1-2 Everton
Swansea City 1-2 Chelsea
West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Aston Villa 1-1 Southampton
Cardiff City 2-2 Stoke City
Chelsea 2-0 Sunderland
Everton 2-1 Manchester United
Hull City Tigers 1-3 Arsenal
Manchester City 4-0 West Bromwich Albion
Newcastle United 3-1 Swansea City
Norwich City 0-6 Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Fulham
West Ham United 1-1 Crystal Palace

Arsenal 2-1 Newcastle United
Crystal Palace 0-3 Manchester City
Fulham 2-1 Hull City Tigers
Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea
Manchester United 4-0 Norwich City
Southampton 2-2 Everton
Stoke City 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Sunderland 2-1 Cardiff City
Swansea City 2-1 Aston Villa
West Bromwich Albion 3-1 West Ham United

May 2014
Arsenal 4-1 West Bromwich Albion
Aston Villa 2-1 Hull City Tigers
Chelsea 5-0 Norwich City
Crystal Palace 1-3 Liverpool
Everton 2-1 Manchester City
Manchester United 3-0 Sunderland
Newcastle United 3-0 Cardiff City
Stoke City 2-0 Fulham
Swansea City 1-2 Southampton
West Ham United 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Cardiff City 0-2 Chelsea
Fulham 1-2 Crystal Palace
Hull City Tigers 1-2 Everton
Liverpool 2-2 Newcastle United
Manchester City 6-0 West Ham United
Norwich City 0-3 Arsenal
Southampton 1-1 Manchester United
Sunderland 2-0 Swansea City
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Aston Villa
West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Stoke City

League calculations
Arsenal 42+10+10+9+12+6 = 89
Manchester City 41+8+12+13+10+3 = 87
Chelsea 40+8+7+15+9+6 = 85
Everton 37+10+8+13+7+6 = 81
Liverpool 36+10+10+7+10+4 = 77
Manchester United 34+7+9+12+6+4 = 72
Tottenham Hotspur 34+6+5+7+9+6 = 67
Newcastle United 33+8+7+5+7+4 = 64
Southampton 27+5+10+10+5+4 = 61
Hull City Tigers 23+5+3+5+1+0 = 37
Swansea City 21+2+6+7+4+0 = 40
Stoke City 21+0+0+9+2+4 = 36
Aston Villa 20+3+1+3+5+3 = 35
Norwich City 19+1+1+6+1+0 = 28
West Bromwich Albion 18+0+4+7+7+1 = 37
Cardiff City 18+3+7+0+4+0 = 32
Crystal Palace 16+7+0+2+1+3 = 29
Fulham 16+3+1+6+7+0 = 33
West Ham United 15+1+7+6+1+0 = 30
Sunderland 14+10+2+1+3+3 = 33

Predicted league table
1. Arsenal 89 pts (Champions, UCL)
2. Manchester City 87 pts (UCL)
3. Chelsea 85 pts (UCL)
4. Everton 81 pts (UCL qualifications)
5. Liverpool 77 pts (UEL)
6. Manchester United 72 pts (UEL)
7. Tottenham Hotspur 67pts
8. Newcastle United 64 pts
9. Southampton 61 pts
10. Swansea City 40 pts
11. Hull City Tigers 37 pts
12. West Bromwich Albion 37 pts
13. Stoke City 36 pts
14. Aston Villa 35 pts
15. Sunderland 33 pts
16. Fulham 33 pts
17. Cardiff City 32 pts
18. West Ham United 30 pts (relegated)
19. Crystal Palace 29 pts (relegated)
20. Norwich City 28 pts (relegated)

Wow, what a month for May 2014... Imagine Manchester City failing to deliver against Everton when it matters most, allowing the Gunners to sneak back to the top of the table, where they currently belong before the predictions. And it is expected that Manchester United would miss out on the Champions League for the 1st time since its inception, and finishing above them is Liverpool, after quite a while of being below Manchester United since the Premier League's beginnings. Of course, I would think Everton would be able to put on the consistency and ruthless streak against the mid-table teams and of course, acting as a banana skin to the big teams. They may just make it to the Champions League ahead of their Merseyside rivals. Being a Manchester United fan is a difficult reality considering the shake-up after Ferguson's retirement at the end of last season. I may have to somehow live with the jokes of "Turn to Channel 5 on Thursday nights". =3

How the EPL takes shape before New Year's Day

West Ham United 2-1 West Bromwich Albion
Aston Villa 2-1 Swansea City
Hull City 2-1 Fulham
Manchester City 5-0 Crystal Palace
Norwich City 1-3 Manchester United
Cardiff City 0-2 Sunderland
Everton 2-1 Southampton
Newcastle United 2-2 Arsenal
Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Stoke City

EPL Table @ 31.12.2013:
1. Manchester City 41 pts (+37)
2. Arsenal 40 pts (+18)
3. Chelsea 40 pts (+16)
4. Everton 37 pts (+13)
5. Liverpool 36 pts (+21)
6. Manchester United 34 pts (+11)
7. Newcastle United 34 pts (+6)
8. Tottenham Hotspur 34 pts (-2)
9. Southampton 27 pts (+6)
10. Hull City 23 pts (-6)
11. Aston Villa 22 pts (-6)
12. Stoke City 21 pts (-11)
13. Swansea City 20 pts (-2)
14. Norwich City 19 pts (-17)
15. West Bromwich Albion 17 pts (-6)
16. West Ham United 17 pts (-9)
17. Cardiff City 17 pts (-17)
18. Sunderland 16pts (-15)
19. Fulham 16 pts (-17)
20. Crystal Palace 16 pts (-20)

There seems to be a clear pattern on how the League is taking shape. It's no real surprise to see City, Arsenal and Chelsea in the mix. However, I would definitely not be betting against Liverpool not being title contenders, as they would have completed 2 tough matches by Sunday (lost against Manchester City and are expected to lose against Chelsea, who's fortress under Mourinho has thus far remained intact). After that, they will have an easy run of fixtures that would be in their favour. At one point I considered Everton a title contender until they lost their unbeaten home record against bottom team Sunderland, who looked resurgent and defiant in defending against all odds. Sunderland is expected to put in the same kind of effort against troubled Cardiff City, which would potentially lift them off the foot of the table.

I had my doubts for Manchester United went they went up against Hull due to their tigerish defensive record at home. It was a lucky 3 points considering it could have gone either way. I'm expecting another fight by Norwich, who beat us 1-0 last season, and I won't be surprised if they raise their game against the dethroned champions at home, despite a tiring run of fixtures. Of course, United will chop and change, but will it be good enough against Norwich? I would still think Norwich will edge this one, but I would love to be proven wrong.

This weekend's EPL matches

Predictions:
Liverpool 4-0 Cardiff City
Crystal Palace 1-1 Newcastle United
Fulham 1-3 Manchester City
Manchester United 2-1 West Ham United
Stoke City 2-2 Aston Villa
Sunderland 2-1 Norwich City
West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Hull City
Southampton 2-1 Tottenham Hotspurs
Swansea 1-2 Everton
Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea

How would the table look like after the results above?
1. Liverpool 36 pts (+25)
2. Arsenal 36 pts (+16)
3. Manchester City 35 pts (+31)
4. Chelsea 34 pts (+14)
5. Everton 34 pts (+13)
6. Manchester United 28 pts (+7)
7. Newcastle United 28 pts (-1)
8. Southampton 27 pts (+6)
9. Tottenham Hotspurs 27 pts (-7)
10. Hull City 22 pts (-4)
11. Swansea City 20 pts (0)
12. Aston Villa 20 pts (-5)
13. Stoke City 19 pts (-5)
14. Norwich City 18 pts (-15)
15. Cardiff City 17 pts (-14)
16. West Bromwich Albion 15 pts (-7)
17. West Ham United 14 pts (-7)
18. Crystal Palace 14 pts (-13)
19. Fulham 13 pts (-17)
20. Sunderland 12 pts (-17)

It's going to be a pretty interesting table based on the results above. This will see Liverpool going top of the league once more since September with a resurgent Luis Suarez wreaking havoc, who had just signed a new contract with them.

Wenger thus far has not been able to defeat a Mourinho side ever since Mourinho joined Chelsea back in 2005. Expect this record to continue, even with an Arsenal side boosting the likes of Ozil and free-scoring Ramsey. Their defence was absolutely shattered in the 6-3 defeat against title contenders Manchester City, who seemed to have finally found form in their away matches, overcoming their road trip blues. For Wenger, limiting the goals conceded would be the priority here.

On the other hand, Everton is going great guns in the EPL this season, thanks in part to the contributions made by Barcelona loanee, Gerard Deulofeu and Chelsea loanee, Romelu Lukaku. Of course, with Deulofeu injured for a month, Martinez may have to rely on the creativity of both Mirallas and Pienaar to break down the Swansea defence, which doesn't look as solid with Vorm injured for 5 weeks. This is a chance for Everton to stay close to the title contenders.

Manchester United seemed to have turned a corner in recent matches with wins in the UCL, league and COC. However, as a Manchester United fan, I have huge concerns about their home form. It seems that the Theatre of Dreams have become a Theatre of Nightmares this season for them. I won't be surprised to see Manchester United struggle against a side threatened by relegation, as well as the familiar face of Ravel Morrison, who seemed to be flourishing under the tutelage of Sam Allardyce, and was instrumental in the destruction of Tottenham in the league when the two sides met. He may look to do the same to his former side.

Southampton has finally halted their losing streak in the league by surprisingly holding Manchester City to a draw some time ago. They would look to take advantage of Spurs' managerial chaos after the sacking of AVB (Another Vacancy Beckons). Pochettino is known for playing a high pressing game, and Spurs should be wary of this threat, particularly the physicality of Adam Lambert and Jay Rodriguez up front. Their defence may struggle, with even Lloris not being able to do much to inspire confidence to his defence.

It's going to be another interesting weekend of football. Cheerio!

2014 World Cup predictions

Group A
Winner: Brazil
Runner-up: Croatia

Group B
Winner: Spain
Runner-up: Chile

Group C:
Winner: Colombia
Runner-up: Japan

Group D:
Winner: Italy
Runner-up: Uruguay

Group E:
Winner: France
Runner-up: Switzerland

Group F:
Winner: Argentina
Runner-up: Bosnia & Herzegovina

Group G:
Winner: Germany
Runner-up: Portugal

Group H:
Winner: Belgium
Runner-up: Russia

What happens in the last 16?
Brazil vs Chile (A1 vs B2)
Colombia vs Uruguay (C1 vs D2)
France vs Bosnia (E1 vs F2)
Germany vs Russia (G1 vs H2)
Spain vs Croatia (B1 vs A2)
Italy vs Japan (D1 vs C2)
Argentina vs Switzerland (F1 vs E2)
Belgium vs Portugal (H1 vs G2)

What happens in the quarter-finals?
A1/B2 vs C1/D2
E1/F2 vs G1/H2
B1/A2 vs D1/C2
F1/E2 vs H1/G2

What happens in the semi-finals?
A1/B2/C1/D2 vs E1/F2/G1/H2
B1/A2/D1/C2 vs F1/E2/H1/G2

I don't even need to say what happens in the final, because it is common sense.

But, let's apply the scenario.

Quarter-finals:
Brazil vs Uruguay (World Cup history, in particular the 1950 World Cup final)
France vs Germany (historically always at loggerheads, but Germany definitely has the better squad)
Spain vs Italy (Tiki-taka vs "Why Always Me")
Argentina vs Portugal (Wow, Messi vs Ronaldo, time to settle it once and for all)

Mouth-watering prospects indeed.

Semi-finals:
Brazil vs Germany (a repeat of the 2002 World Cup final)
Spain vs Argentina (Barca vs Messi & Co.)

Again... Giant fixtures, you can't really go either way.

Final:
Brazil vs Spain

Brazil trying to win it in front of their home fans, but most probably they'll suffer the heartbreak of 1950. Spain just reigns supreme. The core of their squad is mainly from La Liga (in particular Barca and Real Madrid).