Skip to main content

Liverpool Face Man Utd As Man City Look To Get Back Into Groove

Jose Mourinho faces a quandary as he prepares Manchester United for a trip to Premier League leaders Liverpool while Manchester City will be keen to show that last week’s Chelsea defeat was just a blip.
United have an impressive recent record against Liverpool, unbeaten in eight league games, but away fans will travel with a sense of trepidation to Anfield.
Unai Emery takes his Arsenal side, unbeaten in 21 matches in all competitions, to face struggling Southampton while Chelsea also travels to the south coast to take on Brighton.
Manchester City host seventh-placed Everton while Tottenham, fresh from reaching the Champions League knockout phase, face Burnley at Wembley.
AFP Sports picks out some of the main talking points ahead of the weekend fixtures in the Premier League.
Can Mourinho end Liverpool’s unbeaten run?
Jose Mourinho came under fire last year for failing to attack Liverpool’s then leaky defense, settling for a 0-0 draw that cost his side momentum after a fine start to the season.
Normally a draw at Anfield would be a good result but defeat on Sunday could leave United 11 points off the top four if other results go against them.
United scored four goals last week against Fulham but their attacking play has rarely been fluid this season and they are coming up against a defense that has conceded a single goal at home in the Premier League this season.
In a statistical quirk, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, and Sadio Mane will all be looking for a first goal or assist in a Premier League match for Liverpool against United in more than 14 hours of football but few would bet against Salah adding to his tally in his current rich vein of form.
Jesus firing blanks
Gabriel Jesus is in a slump — he has not found the net in the Premier League since August despite chances to stake his claim in the absence of Sergio Aguero through injury.
City boss Pep Guardiola has come to the defense of the misfiring forward, saying he just needs to relax but he will be scratching his head about how to get the best out of the Brazilian.
Jesus started his City career brightly and was seen as a serious threat to Aguero’s position in the team.
But the signs are that Guardiola does not trust the 21-year-old to deliver at the moment. He has started just four Premier League games this season and Guardiola left him out of the starting 11 against Chelsea last week despite the absence of Aguero.
Arsenal’s defensive crisis
Arsenal is without a clutch of centre-backs for their trip to second-bottom club Southampton, seeking fresh direction under new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi are suspended after picking up bookings in last week’s 1-0 win against Huddersfield while Konstantinos Mavropanos and Rob Holding are injured.
Club captain Laurent Koscielny could feature even though has been missing from the Premier League since May with a serious Achilles injury.
Manager Unai Emery said the club could look into recruiting a defender when the transfer window opens — both Chelsea’s Gary Cahill and Eric Bailly of Manchester United have been recently linked with a move to the Emirates.
Pochettino’s rising stock
Mauricio Pochettino enhanced his burgeoning reputation with an impressive 1-1 draw at Barcelona this week as his side reached the Champions League knockouts.
The downside of the success is that the Spurs boss is being linked once again to clubs higher up football’s food chain, specifically Real Madrid and Manchester United.
“It’s no coincidence that every day you read Real Madrid want him or United want him,” Danny Rose told the Guardian ahead of Tottenham’s match against lowly Burnley.
“It’s exactly what he deserves. What he has done here in the last four or five years has been amazing. He has transformed how others think of us outside the club and he has transformed how we think of ourselves and how we approach big games.”
Fixtures (1500 GMT unless stated)
Saturday
Manchester City v Everton (1230), Crystal Palace v Leicester, Huddersfield v Newcastle, Tottenham v Burnley, Watford v Cardiff, Wolverhampton v Bournemouth, Fulham v West Ham (1730)
Sunday
Brighton v Chelsea (1330), Southampton v Arsenal (1330), Liverpool v Manchester United (1600)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Libya vs Nigeria: Samuel Kalu reveals Super Eagles’ 2nd leg game plan

Super Eagles forward, Samuel Kalu has revealed his team game plan when they take on Libya on Tuesday in the 2nd Leg of the 2019 African Cup of Nations, AFCON, qualifying fixture. The Eagles head to the game after a 4-0 win against the North Africans in the 1st leg played on Saturday in Uyo. Kalu who scored the last goal for Nigeria against Libya in the first leg following Odion Ighalo’s hat-trick said Gernot Rohr’s men will approach the Mediterranean Knights with aggressiveness. ”We are definitely going into that match with a mindset of get all three points. We will approach the match with the same aggressive way like we did in Uyo,” the Bordeaux star told Allnigeriasoccer. ”It’s not going to be easy because the Libyans want to respond to their heavy loss but I am confident we will get the right result.” “I am well pleased to have scored my first goal for the national team,” Kalu added. ”As a young boy playing football on the streets, I always dreamt of scoring for Nigeria, and...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tekashi 6ix9ine Drives The Flashiest Ferrari You've Ever Seen

Tekashi's car seriously matches his hair. When you think of 6ix9ine, you probably picture his obnoxiously-colored rainbow hair and teeth in your mind. The man has built a brand off of a combination of his unique image, his stylistic blend of different musical genres, and his Instagram trolling. Currently on a trip to Dubai, Tekashi has been keeping his fans updated with his latest stunting news. Yesterday, the artist revealed that he had spent $50K after spending just 10 minutes inside the Gucci store. Some would say that he's being financially irresponsible but considering all of the success he's experienced this year, his paychecks are probably looking larger than life. Who knows how long he'll be in Dubai but 6ix9ine is actually driving around in a custom rainbow Ferrari while he's overseas. In a place where nearly everybody drives an expensive whip, it can be hard to outdo the residents of Dubai. Unless your name is Tekashi 6ix9ine , that is. While riding t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arsenal stars jet out to Lisbon ahead of Europa League tie vs Sporting

Arsenal stars appeared to be in buoyant moods as they jetted out to Lisbon ahead of Europa League clash against Sporting with the club closing in on their record number of wins in a row. Unai Emery's men will go in search of their 11th win on the bounce when they face Portugal giants Sporting on Thursday evening, which is only three away from their all-time record that came back in 1987. The Arsenal squad departed London on Wednesday and are due to touch down in the Portuguese capital later this evening. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has played a significant role in Arsenal's winning run with four goals from his last two games, took to social media to post a picture of him with several of his team-mates sat in their seats during the flight. Lucas Torreira also shared a snap of him and Emiliano Martinez on Instagram drinking mate tea out of a gourd during their flight to Lisbon. Unai Emery will be hoping it will help Torreira and Co pick up the three points in the Portug...
Post a Comment
Read more