Arsenal rely on a fit Alexis Sánchez, Pep Guardiola is keeping Manchester City fresh and Jason Denayer may have aided Liverpool’s future opponentsOn the corresponding weekend of last season, Alexis Sánchez suffered the hamstring injury at Norwich City that would rule him out for two months. It was the afternoon when the Arsenal forward had also been pushed into the TV camera pit at Carrow Road by Ryan Bennett – an act that Arsène Wenger said “could have killed” the Chilean. Arsenal’s hopes have come to be closely linked to Sánchez’s fitness, on him staying out of the red zone, and there was plenty of nervousness at the club when he hurt his hamstring in training with Chile during the...
False No9s are in; free roles, with the exception of Mesut Özil, are out; back threes are making a comeback; and pressing is en vogueA few years ago possession was the most discussed concept in football. Since then there has been a shift from a possession-based approach and more attention paid to pressing. Mauricio Pochettino’s Southampton and Tottenham sides pressed in advanced positions to win the ball quickly, Klopp popularised counter-pressing, winning the ball immediately after it has been lost, and Guardiola also emphasises the importance of closing down in advanced positions. Related: Tammy Abraham, Pontus Jansson and the Championship’s most eye-catching players | Nick Miller Continue reading...
Arsenal’s title hopes are on hold, Tony Pulis is hoping for money in the January transfer window and Loris Karius is keeping Jürgen Klopp happy Related: The Dozen: the weekend's best Premier League photos Continue reading...
Marcus Rashford needs restoring to centre stage, Victor Moses is shining for Chelsea at last and David Moyes should be allowed to rebuild SunderlandThe splurge of title-winning questions after Liverpool’s breathless victory at Selhurst Park provoked a wonderfully enigmatic response from Jürgen Klopp. Can his team conquer the league playing in this wild fashion? “I’ve no idea,” he said. “It’s my first proper season in the Premier League. I have no idea what to do to win the Premier League. I’m pretty sure it was never decided at the end of October. We feel good in the moment, that’s all.” The notion that an experienced manager with 15 years on the job – who won the Bundesliga twice and has...
Tottenham failed to create enough chances against Leicester and Pochettino will hope they are a great deal sharper against Bayer Leverkusen and ArsenalGone are the days when a manager could stride into his dressing room, say “Lads, it’s Tottenham” and leave the room satisfied that his message had been delivered. That was Sir Alex Ferguson’s way of motivating his players at Manchester United before games against the north London club, back when a streak of self-destructiveness threatened to undermine Spurs at every turn.Squander a 3-0 lead? Spursy. Score a comical own goal in the last minute? Spursy. Roll over in a daunting away game? That’s Spurs for you. They can’t be trusted. Related: Leicester’s Ahmed Musa strikes to frustrate blunt...