A chance for Bournemouth at Anfield, Burnley and Spurs battle for European slots and Fernandes can seize big derby stageGiven their 22-point lead at the top of the table, no one at Liverpool is likely to be concerned by three recent defeats in four games across three different competitions. Of course, while a win against Bournemouth would help steady the ship and halt the onset of anything approaching mild jitters, Eddie Howe’s men will head to Anfield to face hosts recently derobed of what had previously resembled a cloak of invincibility. With Fabinho in poor form and Jordan Henderson still sidelined with injury, Liverpool look uncharacteristically vulnerable in midfield and are crying out for on-field leadership. While it ought to...
Underrated Pearson has transformed Watford, Wolves’ unsung hero comes to fore and Messi and Griezmann just don’t clickThe sound of a top-flight stadium reverberating to “We’ve got super Nigel Pearson, he knows exactly what we need” (tune: Bad Moon Rising) can be filed among the things few envisaged in August. But Watford’s win against Liverpool was a measure of the uplift one of the season’s less likely appointments has contrived. “He is always about feet on the floor, he [has] never overreacted and you have to stay focused,” said Abdoulaye Doucouré. “He showed us videos and said we can do it. Nigel is a great, great manager, a great lad, and now he will keep everyone on the floor to...
Successive defeats at the Etihad and Anfield were not without encouragement, but beating Southampton on Saturday now looks non-negotiableIt was hard not to feel just a little bit sorry for David Moyes when his West Ham team briefly led at Liverpool on Monday. There was a certain inevitability about the home side recovering and securing all three points, but at least West Ham had put themselves in a position to win, less than a week after their impersonation of a doormat against Manchester City at the Etihad.Moyes has famously never won at Anfield; in fact his lamentable record against what might loosely be described as top-six sides in England is one of the biggest flaws in his managerial CV. Even...
There was something of a siege mentality against Uefa, yet the stadium was not a cauldron of hate with the loudest chants being upbeatThere was probably more menace in the message from the chief executive than the chorus from the stands, even if Ferran Soriano’s language contained fewer expletives. But the shared message was one of defiance.Sandwiched by two examples of Gabriel Jesus’s curious reluctance to shoot when he had only the goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to beat came a new addition to the City songbook. “Fuck you Uefa, we’ll see you in court,” were the lyrics and who, a few years ago, thought they would be singing about the court of arbitration for sport rather than Sergio Agüero or Kevin...
Ralph Hasenhüttl’s Southampton turnaround has been impressive while West Ham might end up giving Manuel Pellegrini a £10m severance package for little gainA lot of clubs have spent the season yo-yoing around the Premier League. In early November Bournemouth were seventh and Brighton were eighth, and now both are fighting relegation; Crystal Palace were seventh at the start of December and now they aren’t looking comfortable; Southampton have appeared doomed, safe and now look uncertain again; Burnley have crossed the halfway line eight times already. Beneath the top two, there is real competitive balance; people have always said that in the Premier League anyone can beat anyone, and this year – aside from Liverpool, and Manchester City when they turn...