Pep Guardiola’s team have yet to reach a Champions League final but the bookmakers fancy them to halt Real Madrid’s hot streak and outpace Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester UnitedThe Champions League is back this coming week, and easily the most striking aspect of the competition before the group stages commence is that Manchester City are the favourites to win it. With all respect to Pep Guardiola’s expensively assembled side, this seems odd. City have yet to even reach a Champions League final, yet bookmakers give them a better chance of carrying off the spoils this season than Real Madrid, who just happen to have won the last three finals and are looking to extend their record to four.Perhaps there are...
This may not have been a whirl of red pain for Tottenham, but every part of the machine looks calm and settledGet ready. It looks as though, this time, the Reds really are coming up the hill. It was not that Liverpool played irresistibly well. This was not a performance to drive the imagination or a whirl of red pain for Tottenham. Instead this felt like something better. Liverpool were solid in every position, their combinations well-grooved, every starting player blessed with the same intelligence, the same speed and spiky aggression.There was some fine movement at times from Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino, who still seems to be under the impression he has only borrowed the centre-forward position and needs...
Spurs’ rough month could be extended by Liverpool, another perfect record is on the line at Watford and fears for West HamSeptember hasn’t exactly been great for Tottenham thus far. Defeat at Watford was followed by landing in Barcelona’s Champions League group, Daniel Levy confirming more costly delays to the new stadium and a night in Milton Keynes. Dele Alli got injured on international duty and their captain, Hugo Lloris, was ruled out with a thigh problem shortly after admitting being two times over the drink-drive limit. Ever a man to brighten the mood, Son Heung-min returns this week fresh from pulling the nutmeg of the year, with Asian Games gold (and military service exemption) also in the bag. How...
Spurs must kick their habit of letting in goals when seemingly in control, starting against Liverpool, at a time when every bad result threatens to undermine their projectTottenham’s 4-1 win at Wembley against Liverpool last October was one of those games that stays in the memory long after the final whistle. It wasn’t just the result, although that of course was part of it.This was a game that brought together a number of strands, in effect ending Spurs’ Wembley hoodoo, laying Liverpool’s defensive limitations so bare that Jürgen Klopp claimed they would have been better off with him at centre-back and cementing Son Heung-min’s status as a crowd favourite. Related: Hugo Lloris will remain as Tottenham captain on return from injury...
The Spaniard said: ‘You can only drive the car you have’ – but could he push his side closer to the speed limit?It won’t last long, but the infant Premier League table is about as close to telling porkies as a league table can ever get at the moment, giving the wholly misleading impression that big can mix with little in England and that any team can reach any stratum. Related: Newcastle tie a welcome distraction as Aitor Karanka asks for patience| Ben Fisher Related: Who are the Premier League possession kings in a single match? Continue reading...