This weekend sees some blockbusters coming in England. But would they live up to the billing? And a few thoughts on key issues around the Premier League.
The Emirates game may not be that good
The big game this Premier League weekend is supposed to be at the Emirates, involving Arsenal and Manchester United. But it may yet become a damp squib.
Arsenal have fading hopes of making it into the Champions League, and are expected to line up in a 3-4-4 once more. The Gunners will need to win every single game between now and the end of the season to have any chance of guaranteed top level European football next season.
For Manchester United, it’s a tricky situation but the air has been clear by their gaffer: Europa League triumph is a priority, and with the side winning 1-0 away on Thursday at Celta Vigo, José Mourinho has made it clear that placing fourth in the Premiership isn’t top of his agenda.
He wants to enter the Champions League through the back door, meaning a second-string side will be fielded at the Emirates. “The players that have accumulated lots of minutes are not going to play next weekend,” said Mourinho.
Arsenal were leg dead against Spurs last weekend, and one wouldn’t trust them to scare a United B-team, even. They are that listless at the moment.
Another cool pre-match subplot is a comment Arsène Wenger made in his prematch conference, suggesting he is prepared to forget about a decade’s worth of juvenile insults from Mourinho and make peace with his rival. Sounds like a good idea.
Disastrous Guardiola to finish hard?
Just like his Portuguese rival, Pep Guardiola’s first league campaign in Manchester has not been the best, to put it mildly. They started the league with a swoosh, and are ending with a whimper, per Pep’s high standards.
In spurts, City have been quite good. But what did we expect as a minimum threshold with players as world class as David Silva, Kevin de Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sané? They should be chasing for the title.
The area where Pep has really failed is in managing his players, and building a side of camaraderie whose bond translates into three points in every game. For large stretches of the season, the Spaniard could not even put together a consistent XI. His defenders have not helped, with calamitous instances all season, but the buck stops with him.
Against Palace, the best of City was evidenced. The 5-0 demolition was followed by fighting talk from the gaffer, who urged more ruthlessness from his charges. Too little, too late.
Sigurdsson won’t last at Swansea
Saturday’s priceless victory against Everton came from yet another Fernando Llorente header, and his 13th goal of the season. It was enough to lift Swansea one point ahead of Hull, and out of the drop zone.
But did you see Gylfi Sigurdsson in action? Superb, once more. That he is a gem is not in doubt. That he is the lifeblood for Swansea should not be up for debate. He has now been directly involved in 21 of the Welsh side’s 40 Premier League goals.
It’s easy to reduce him to being just a good freekick taker, but his 12 assists tell of how useful he is on the team level. And his nine goals too don’t do his prospects badly either.
It is extremely unlikely the Iceland star will stay with the Swans even if they survive the drop, for the 27-year old is on the radar of a lot of midtable teams. One of them is Everton, whose defeat would surely have come with a note of the man from Iceland’s play. Gylfi should be looking at such clubs as those really worthy of his talents.
Reds aiming for top four hurrah
A season of bizarre losses against small teams will haunt Liverpool by the end of the campaign, but they need to buckle up and take the rest of the points on offer.
Southampton, though, is a tricky opponent for the Reds as the Saints have stopped Klopp’s side from scoring in the three encounters they’ve had (two EFL semis and one league fixture).
When they meet on Sunday, the Reds should look at correcting that barren error, but they must also concentrate more on pinning down that Champions league spot at once.
Conte’s headache: keeping his side players happy
The joy of having no European football at a top club like Chelsea is that a coach can count on being consistent with world class playing and, as Antonio Conte has done, run away with the title.
Now, he’s got to figure out a way of returning to normal service when Champions League football comes around next season. He possibly cannot use the same XI every week, meaning he would have to rely on a solid bench – members of which may feel unwanted at the moment.
Can Chelsea keep Willian and Cesc Fabregas?
Indeed, will some of the current starters be able to hold down a place when the inevitable summer splurge to reinforce comes around? Maybe, Conte should consider giving his fringe players a proper run out this weekend against Middlesbrough.
That should give the club a measure of how good and rounded they are, plus who can start packing their bags as well.
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