SHAREWith a huge weekend coming up in the Premier League we give you 5 things to chat about with your mates down the pub.
1. Rashford Looks To Take His Chance
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic missing through suspension and Wayne Rooney potentially still shaking off a hangover the stage looks set for a return to centre forward for Marcus Rashford. The young striker scored two on his Premier League debut against the Gunners last term and even without the absence of the big names, many of United’s fans would have been calling for him to be reinstated at the head of the Red Devil’s attack in this game. Zlatan scored two against a lacklustre Swansea in the last game week but he has needed a rest and this team looks like it could work best if set up to attack with pace on the break. Expect Lingard to also make a return to the starting line-up and for United to close down and harry from the front. Mourinho has never lost to Wenger in the Premier league and he has never been afraid to bully the London side. Physically he could do that with United’s older forwards but the running required in this match should suit Rashford’s game down to the ground. His pace an direct style should also worry Arsenal’s centre back pairing and though he hasn’t played much football in his preferred centre forward position this season, Marcus Rashford has already shown in his short career that he is more than capable of coming in and making an impact.
2. Pep & Pards Under Pressure.
Manchester City go into this game against Crystal Palace with just one Premier League win in their last five games and you might be forgiven for wondering if the magic around Pep Guardiola has diminished a little. The win at Barcelona seemed to give them a massive boost but then that was followed up with a disappointing draw at home with Middlesborough. Pardew would love nothing more than to pile a bit more pressure on to a big name like Pep but things have been rotten at Palace recently, who are without a win in five games and have lost the last four. In fact Palace haven’t been playing well for some time now, according to Opta, Crystal Palace have claimed just 0.73 points per game in 2016, the worst rate of any team in England’s top four tiers, so a visit from a Manchester City who are out to prove a point could be disastrous. Despite that, they do have a good team and time and time again this season, City have been found wanting when a team puts them under pressure. With plenty of pace out wide in Zaha and Townsend and a genuine goal scorer in Christian Benteke up top, Palace could cause City problems, though a dismal record of sixteen games without a clean sheet and ten goals against in the last three games also means that Aguero and co. could have a field day. Expect goals and some serious questions for whichever manager walks away empty handed.
3. Can Liverpool Keep It Going?
League leaders and all round entertainers Liverpool travel to Southampton on Saturday looking to continue their blistering run of form. The Reds may be without two of their star men though as former Saint, Adam Lallana was forced off while on England duty and Phillipe Coutinho has a slight hamstring strain. The pair have been instrumental in Liverpool’s quick flowing play which has seen the team score an incredible thirty goals in eleven games so far this season. They have also been leaking goals at the back though. Of the teams in the top half of the table, only Watford and Burnley have conceded more goals. The international break may actually have been a help to Klopp in this regard however as four of the teams back five, were not involved with their national teams and have had two weeks to work and train together at Melwood. A lot may depend on Lallana and Coutinho proving their fitness but with a more solid backline and Firmino and another former Southampton man, Mane, leading the line, Liverpool should still be top of the pile come Monday.
4. Can Kane Get Spurs Firing?
Spurs are undefeated this season but despite that, it hasn’t been a great start for the London side. They are without a win in the league since the start of October. Admittedly that win did come against Manchester City, but draws against West Brom, Bournemouth and an uninterested Leicester City point to a side struggling in front of goal. This was in no part down to the prolonged absence of England striker Harry Kane. The forward returned from a seven week spell out of the team with a goal in the north London derby and Spurs will be grateful to England for releasing him from international duty to continue his return to full fitness. Another derby awaits this weekend as West Ham visit White Hart Lane and Kane will be keen to get back to business. Added to this there is further good news for Tottenham as there is a good chance Dele Alli will also feature in this game having missed the Arsenal and England games through injury. For a team with genuine title ambitions at the start of the season, a return of fifteen goals in eleven games is simply not good enough. A good result against a struggling Hammers side could be just what the doctor ordered.
5. An Early Relegation Six Pointer.
It’s hard to believe that we are already talking about relegation six pointers but that’s exactly what this weekend’s game between Sunderland and Hull is. Let’s be honest for a second. Neither of these teams are good enough to be playing in this division. Sunderland haven’t been good enough for years but have somehow managed to avoid the drop with some late managerial changes and upturns in form. Can anyone see this happening again this year? Under Big Sam they might have had a chance but Moyes seems to have run out of ideas already. As a club the Black Cats would probably benefit from a year or two in the Championship, they could offload some or all of the dead wood and build from scratch. their fans might even get to see their team win a few games. As for Hull they were woefully unprepared from the start. A siege mentality got them some good results at the start of the season but since then fatigue and a blatant lack of quality have resulted in a winless run in the league that goes back to a 2-0 victory over Swansea, and everyone’s beating Swansea. A win for the tigers could actually see them jump to 15th so there’s still some hope there. A win for Sunderland would still leave them in the bottom two, a loss and bookies might start paying out on their relegation.
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