With Sheffield United and West Brom cut adrift, our writers look at the three teams in the greatest danger of finishing 18thReasons to be cheerful Crucial wins against Southampton and Newcastle before the international break have eased the pressure on Graham Potter significantly after a disastrous run that yielded one point from five matches. The 3-0 thumping of Newcastle – only Brighton’s fourth victory at the Amex since December 2019 – was particularly important given it has helped establish a six-point cushion with nine games to go and showed that this team can have a cutting edge. Related: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend Related: Which Premier League clubs have the hardest and easiest run-ins? Related:...
Chances for Arsenal and Liverpool to boost their seasons and for Edinson Cavani and Aleksandar Mitrovic to deliver goalsIf anyone had told Mikel Arteta that last season’s gap between Arsenal and Liverpool – 43 points – would narrow to four by early April he would have been forgiven for envisaging an unlikely title battle. The truth from Arsenal’s perspective is far more mundane; Liverpool’s slump is the story and they travel to the Emirates in urgent need of a win that might recharge their top-four hopes. They cannot afford to drift any further behind Chelsea so this weekend is probably all about keeping pace, given Thomas Tuchel’s side face West Brom, This is not a fixture Arteta or Jürgen Klopp...
Phil Foden should be central for City and England, neutrals should root for Brighton and Celtic seek a long-term planPhil Foden must start. Whether it is Manchester City’s most important matches, or for England at a European Championship, he must start. City’s win over Borussia Mönchengladbach was confirmation of this, and while his midfield mates Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gündogan took the headlines for their goals, Foden put in an imperious performance at the tip of City’s midfield, providing a sumptuous no-look assist to take his goal contributions this season to 20 (from 36 appearances). There are others that could play this position for both City and England, but on current form it would be a huge shame not...
Fulham continue to struggle in front of goal, Leicester threatening a second collapse and West Brom play by the rulesAt the start of Scott McTominay’s United career, his place in the team seemed predicated in José Mourinho’s antipathy towards Paul Pogba, his receipt of the manager’s player of the year award the nearest Mourinho could get to presenting it to himself. Since then, though, McTominay has improved by several orders of magnitude, contributing power, tenacity and personality – skills that have been crucial in helping United improve from sixth to second. They still struggle to dominate, however, and when Pogba is absent the entirety of the creative burden rests with Bruno Fernandes, who had an off-day at Stamford Bridge. To...
Watkins shows Arsenal what they are missing, Loftus-Cheek shows promise at Fulham and Dummett the man for all jobsOllie Watkins is in a rich vein of form and improving by the game. His winner against Arsenal was his fourth goal in five, bringing his Premier League tally to 10 in 21 games since arriving at Aston Villa from Brentford. He could have had a couple more on Saturday but perhaps the 25-year-old’s most impressive feature is the way he leads the line. Watkins is a hive of movement, rarely giving defenders a moment’s peace, and looks as comfortable coming deep or working the channels as he does operating off the shoulder. He is exactly the kind of striker Arsenal might...