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Manchester United may be top dogs in north-west but title is London-bound | Paul Wilson

José Mourinho is well placed to see off Manchester City and Liverpool but Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs are set to go for the biggest prizeAlarm bells have started to ring in the north-west of England. The EFL and FA Cups may be providing a temporary distraction but the inescapable fact is that London clubs occupy the top three positions in the Premier League.This was not widely anticipated at the start of the season, when it was thought coaches of the calibre of José Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp would be slugging it out for the league leadership, not squabbling between themselves for the one remaining Champions League place. Related: Football transfer rumours: Leverkusen winger Julian Brandt to Liverpool? Continue...

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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Jesus is finally available for Manchester City, Klopp faces a choice between Origi and Sturridge and Costa may have to bide time for return to Chelsea starting XIAs Manchester United prepare to visit the Britannia Stadium, examining Stoke City’s record against the league’s best sides this season offers an indication of where Mark Hughes and José Mourinho should both be looking for improvement. Stoke’s record against the elite is awful: five of their six matches against the league’s top six sides have ended in heavy defeats. They have lost 3-1 at Arsenal, 4-2 at Chelsea and 4-1 at Liverpool, while they were thumped 4-1 and 4-0 at home by Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively. Good enough to take the...

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Arsenal’s Alexis Sánchez goes to the dogs to find solace from his big city blues | Simon Burnton

The workaholic Chilean forward has cut a brooding figure recently but finds comfort in the positive vibrations of his labradors Atom and HumberWith 11 minutes to play at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday, the fourth official held up a board bearing the numbers 23 and seven. Danny Welbeck was coming on, and Alexis Sánchez was being replaced towards the end of the 4-0 win against Swansea City. The Chilean walked stroppily to the side of the pitch, brushed past his manager with head bowed, angrily drop-volleyed his gloves and slumped alone on the bench, hiding under the hood of his puffy grey coat. This gifted, workaholic footballer, admired and even adored by millions, thousands of whom were in the stadium...

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Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Manchester City resemble the girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead, N’Golo Kanté’s return to Leicester shows Wilfred Ndidi what needs to be done and David Moyes regrets catching the bullet dodged by Mark HughesThis time last year Southampton paid £4m to sign Charlie Austin from Queens Park Rangers. It was a while before he made an impact, but he certainly made an impact during the early part of this season, scoring nine goals in 19 games. But Southampton’s form has tailed off since Austin suffered a shoulder injury last month. They have lacked a cutting edge and have won only three of their past nine games in all competitions, sinking into the bottom half of the...

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Arsène Wenger aims to save Alexis Sánchez’s energy for tougher battles | Nick Miller

The Arsenal forward showed his frustration when he was substituted during their 4-0 win over Swansea, but Wenger dismissed it as a ‘non-story’A couple of weeks ago, Arsène Wenger admitted Alexis Sánchez looked “jaded”, the relentless Chilean’s workload taking a toll on even his machine of a body. Now, after a couple of weeks rest, Sánchez was back to his fizzing best, the driving force behind Arsenal’s 4-0 win against Swansea City, a bundle of energy that few defences can cope with, let alone the worst in the Premier League.Sánchez seems to regard being substituted in much the same way as a giddy child playing in the park would after being unwillingly called home for dinner. When his number was...

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