With Manchester United visiting the Riverside only days after Aitor Karanka was sacked, Steve Agnew has been tasked with easing Boro’s relegation fearsSteve Agnew seemed slightly uncertain. “Suit or tracksuit?” mused Middlesbrough’s interim manager. “I don’t know. I haven’t had time to think about that, so it’ll probably be whatever takes my fancy when I wake up on Sunday morning … but I’d prefer the cameras to be focusing on the players rather than me.” Related: Stewart Downing has a ‘big part to play’ after Karanka row, says Steve Agnew Related: Middlesbrough v Manchester United: match preview Continue reading...
Everton and Romelu Lukaku get to shift their attention to the pitch, Liverpool face off with Manchester City, and Spurs look to push on without Harry KaneEverton-owned strikers will provide two causes for regret at Goodison Park on Saturday. Hull City miss Oumar Niasse, the on-loan centre-forward whose goals against Swansea City last week have made escaping the drop a realistic proposition, as he is ineligible to face the club that froze him out within months of arriving from Lokomotiv Moscow. That is poor timing as Marco Silva looks to create some momentum but Everton have concerns of their own. Romelu Lukaku and his family are hardly known for reticence but his clearly voiced concerns about the club’s ambition, hot...
Gruelling festive fixture lists may not be good preparation for playing Champions League football in February but Tottenham were already out by ChristmasEnglish football may be about to plunge into one of its regular periods of introspection now that Leicester City are left as the only standard-bearers for the Premier League in the Champions League quarter-finals, though the rest of Europe will not find anything too surprising in this week’s developments. Related: Monaco’s Tiemoué Bakayoko condemns Manchester City to away-goal defeat Related: Arsène Wenger has been living on borrowed time at Arsenal for too long | Richard Williams Continue reading...
The Manchester United manager took a leaf from one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s old books but Ander Herrera’s red card changed the game and there are signs Antonio Conte has plans to counteract a back-six strategyThe problem with facing Antonio Conte’s Chelsea, as so many Premier League managers have discovered this season, is that their front three becomes a front five. In Monday night’s FA Cup tie at Stamford Bridge, José Mourinho responded by effectively deploying a back six.Chelsea have overloaded the opposition frequently this season thanks to Eden Hazard and Pedro (or, in this case, Willian) drifting inside to positions close to Diego Costa, allowing Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses to push forward aggressively down the outside. Opponents are...
Manchester United’s strategy was to shackle Chelsea’s main creative force by any means and Phil Jones could have been sent off before Ander Herrera wasMidway through a thrilling, slightly wild first half at Stamford Bridge Phil Jones could be seen bumping and jouncing into the back of Eden Hazard on the edge of the Chelsea box like a middle-aged man performing an aggressively drunken conga at the office party. As Hazard fell Jones also stood on his hand, no doubt balancing up the throb in Hazard’s right cheek, where Ander Herrera had left his shoulder a few minutes before.The match facts will reveal that this 1-0 FA Cup quarter final victory was decided by N’Golo Kanté’s clinching goal just after...