Premier League Notebook Heading into Week 5
You don’t need to work for Opta to identify the biggest game of the Premier League this weekend. On Sunday afternoon Chelsea visit Manchester City—that’s literally all you need to know.
The same fixture last season was arguably the most notable result of the season, even if it ultimately did not define the title race in the way some suspected it would. Nevertheless—and regular readers will know how much we try to avoid hyperbole—it was one of the very finest tactical and technical performances the league has ever seen.
Chelsea entered that February game five points behind league leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, and three behind City. Mourinho had stoked the fires in the build-up, suggesting City were ignoring FFP guidelines and should face the same accusations about “buying the title” as he did during his first Chelsea stint, according to Dominic Fifield of The Guardian.
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The game itself was a Mourinho masterpiece. Chelsea defended deeply and resiliently, time and again hitting an out-thought and out-fought City side on the counter-attack. The visitors hit the post three times, but Branislav Ivanovic’s long-range strike shortly before half-time was enough to secure a classic 1-0 away win.
In the aftermath Mourinho then made a similarly famous comment, reported by BBC Sport's Phil McNulty. "The title race is between two horses and a little horse that needs milk and needs to learn how to jump," he said. "Maybe next season we can race."
At the time his comments were taken as another slice of mind games, but they would prove remarkably prophetic. City were undone on the night, but they still went on to lift the title as Liverpool (not even a horse in Mourinho's reckoning) eventually emerged as their strongest challenger.
The run-in led to criticism of Mourinho—he could set up a team to defend against any side, but did his teams lack the attacking edge to beat similarly defensive-first approaches?—and sparked Chelsea into a summer overhaul that saw them add both Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas.
Perhaps Diego Costa is the milk and Fabregas is the jumping ability in Mourinho's proverbial Chelsea horse, a horse that now looks very much like a stallion. Costa provides the cutting edge Mourinho always insisted he needed, while Fabregas offers another dimension in midfield with his passing and control of the game.
The question, of course, is whether this Chelsea team is now capable of producing the sort of counter-attacking away wins they specialised in last season (they did not lose at any of their main rivals), or whether the squad's additions make the Blues more proficient in the games that cost them so dearly last term, but less capable of playing in their former vein.
City will be eager to find out, and eager to make a point after last season’s results (they also famously lost 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, thanks to Joe Hart’s late mistake).
Yes, Manuel Pellegrini’s side won the title, but with Chelsea creating the impression they would always find a way to win a one-off meeting between the two (the FA Cup excepted), there is still a lot to prove.
In contrast to Chelsea’s new signings, City—finally hampered by the FFP restrictions Mourinho complained about—seemed to follow a summer policy of continuation rather than evolution, with Fernando and Eliaquim Mangala improving the depth of the squad rather than expanding its capabilities. Pellegrini refined their own winning template, but Chelsea think they have put together something even stronger.
Those stakes are also raised by the state of the Premier League table so far, although it is too early for any panic to set in.
Nevertheless, Chelsea have made all the running with four wins from four games, with City five points back after a draw (with Arsenal) and defeat (at home to Stoke). The late loss to Bayern Munich in midweek added to Pellegrini’s early season concerns.
Midfielder Fernandinho summed it up well when he said, according to Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News:
"When you lose a game like this at the end, after the game you feel a little bit sad. You have to recover as soon as you can. We have a great game against a big team like Chelsea. The best way to recover is to win that game. ...
In the Premier League the most important thing is not to give the team at the top of the table reasons to keep winning game after game. We don’t want a big space between us. We have to win because there are six or eight points difference between us and Chelsea. We have to shorten it.
They have started very well. Their new players have shown their quality and I think this will be a great game. We have a good team as well and are playing at home for our supporters. I hope we can win this game.
"
If Chelsea really are the class of the league this season, as so many already insist they are, then they will power to another eye-catching away victory.
City’s defence of the title rests more on their ability to learn from the mistakes they made last season and address the weaknesses that were occasionally exposed; fending off Mourinho (or failing to) this time around will be an important signpost in that regard.
Week 4 Fixtures
All games 3 p.m. BST (10 a.m. ET) unless otherwise stated.
Saturday
QPR vs. Stoke City (12:45 p.m.)
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal
Burnley vs. Sunderland
Newcastle United vs. Hull City
Swansea City vs. Southampton
West Ham vs. Liverpool (5:30 p.m.)
Sunday
Leicester City vs. Manchester United (1:30 p.m.)
Tottenham vs. West Brom (1:30 p.m.)
Everton vs. Crystal Palace (4 p.m.)
Manchester City vs. Chelsea (4 p.m.)
1. What to watch out for this weekend
Manager down?
It seems the Premier League could lose another manager this weekend if Newcastle fail to get a result against Hull City on Saturday.
Banners were displayed and chants unleashed against Alan Pardew during last weekend’s abject 4-0 loss at Southampton, with the ex-Saints boss now on the chopping block—even this early in the season.
Pardew’s list of excuses for failing to get results is now legendary, so how about he adds this one to the list: If Hull had actually managed to qualify for the Europa League group stages, they would be playing this game on Sunday following a Thursday away trip to Warsaw. Instead they enter this game as relaxed and prepared as their opponents.
Pardew just cannot catch a break.
A better barometer
After a poor start to the season, the weekend demolition of QPR had many Manchester United fans proclaiming the return of the good times.
This weekend’s game, against another promoted team, might put a more realistic spin on those hopes. Leicester City have been the class of the new boys so far and, in the likes of Leonardo Ulloa, have the ability to hurt a United side that, admittedly, looks revitalised by its latest batch of expensive signings.
Still, United will have played all three of the new boys in a row by the end of the weekend—they currently have four points from two games, and surely anything less than seven would force a further re-evaluation of their chances for this season.
European hangover effect
This weekend is the first real opportunity for observers to gauge the effect of European participation, with four teams in action on Sunday following continental matches in midweek (Liverpool and Arsenal also play on Saturday).
The received wisdom is that such obligations inevitably result in a dip in performance the next game, so it will be interesting to see if either Crystal Palace (who face Everton) and West Brom (who meet Tottenham) can take advantage.
Sustaining the surprise
Swansea host an intriguing battle on Saturday, as Southampton come to town. The Saints and the Swans have been two of the unlikely stars of this fledgling campaign, despite early predictions that both sides would struggle badly following summer changes.
Yet both Ronald Koeman and Garry Monk seem to have built solid squads that continue to play football in the right way—whoever wins at the Liberty Stadium will be even more optimistic about what the rest of the season might have in store.
2. Video of the week
Bold predictions make the world go 'round...
3. Player to watch
Enner Valencia
Many scoffed when the Hammers paid £14 million to sign the Ecuador international, with many simply assuming Sam Allardyce had been seduced by the sparkling nature of his World Cup performances. But the lithe forward sure announced himself in style last Monday, scoring a beautiful long-range effort in the 2-2 draw with Hull.
That game also saw him showcase his prodigious leaping ability, an attribute that is likely to bring him further joy as the season progresses. He will almost certainly make his home debut against Liverpool this Saturday, with Brendan Rodgers and his team already well aware of everything Valencia can do.
With the Reds looking so suspect from set pieces in the loss to Aston Villa, Valencia’s aerial threat will be a constant concern.
Allardyce might have been told to bring attacking football back to the Boleyn Ground this season, but Valencia looks like he might be able to contribute goals in many different ways.
4. Game of the weekend
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal
Having already expended a fair few words on the game at the Etihad Stadium, it is only right that we look at another contest. A day earlier at Villa Park there is an important game for Arsenal, as they face second-placed Aston Villa.
It is a meeting between two of the three undefeated sides left in the division (Chelsea being the other), and a game Arsenal seemingly cannot afford to lose. Aston Villa are on a high, however, and after going to Anfield and carving out a 1-0 win Jose Mourinho himself would have been proud of, they will see no reason to fear an Arsenal side that is often stereotyped as being weak away from home.
Arsene Wenger must realise the importance of getting a win here, especially on the back of the desperately disappointing Champions League collapse against Borussia Dortmund. With Danny Welbeck needing his first goal, Mesut Ozil misfiring and Mathieu Debuchy injured, even at this early stage of the season he has plenty of awkward questions to address. It was ever thus with the Gunners.
