Merseyside club have been wildly inconsistent and, with Manchester City their next opponents, an upturn is neededNot too long ago Everton were able to boast a decent record against Manchester City. They were never reliable enough to be regarded as a bogey team but they caused a few problems during Roberto Mancini’s time at the Etihad Stadium, and as recently as Pep Guardiola’s first season in England they were responsible for a 4-0 victory at Goodison that still stands as the manager’s biggest and most inexplicable Premier League defeat.Everton were not quite as potent a force once Ronald Koeman and Romelu Lukaku had departed, yet a Wayne Rooney goal was still enough to claim a draw at the Etihad Stadium...
Solskjær’s diplomacy masks United problems, De Bruyne in the ascendancy and Xhaka’s poor form gives Emery a tough choiceThe Dozen: our pick of the weekend’s best picturesUnai Emery is yet to find the right balance for his midfield but the claim of his de facto captain, Granit Xhaka, to be part of it is looking decidedly tenuous. First things first: the Switzerland international is a good player who cares tremendously and does not deserve anything like the negative reception he received upon his substitution against Aston Villa after 72 minutes. But his replacements, Lucas Torreira and the outstanding youngster Joe Willock, helped turbo-charge Arsenal’s comeback while Matteo Guendouzi played the second half like a man possessed. Xhaka, by contrast, looked...
Buendía the architect of City’s bad day, Arsenal were woeful in defence and Maguire deserved better from Leicester fansThe Dozen: our pick of the weekend’s best picturesThe way in which Norwich turned a negative into a positive was quite something. With nigh-on a full team of players out injured, the odds of stopping Manchester City looked insurmountable. Instead Daniel Farke’s men gave their best performance of the season by far, not only cutting the champions open but looking solid at the back for the first time. There was kudos for the debutants in defence, Sam Byram and Ibrahim Amadou, but also for more seasoned Norwich players. Emi Buendía and Marco Stiepermann were central to a buccaneering style in the Championship...
Bruce might have what it takes at Anfield, Manchester United and Spurs under pressure and a six-pointer at the Amex?Newcastle don’t have much of a record at Anfield. They’ve not won there since Steve Watson knocked Roy Evans’s side out of the League Cup in 1995; they’ve not tasted league victory there since Andrew Cole and Robert Lee secured a 2-0 win in 1994. It’s been mainly defeats ever since, though they did get a point three years ago against a starting XI featuring Alberto Moreno, Connor Randall and Kevin Stewart. The Magpies won’t be flying down the A1 with too much hope in their hearts, then. Liverpool are on a 13-match Premier League winning run, and Mo Salah and...
The pundit may not have meant any harm but he strayed into hurtful territory when speculating on Moise Kean’s characterMany years ago I was a told a joke that, looking back, could well have been my first experience of racial stereotyping. I can’t remember who said it, or exactly how old I was, but it has lived with me ever since.“What do you call a black man in a suit? Guilty.” Continue reading...