Premier League Notebook Heading into Week 26

As Chelsea return to domestic matters for the next three weeks following the midweek Champions League draw against Paris Saint-Germain, Jose Mourinho will focus on maintaining—or even expanding—the current seven-point gap the club enjoy at the top of the Premier League.

There is also the small matter of the League Cup final, not to mention Mourinho's future; the Portuguese is apparently close to signing a contract extension with the club, with his present deal due to expire in the summer of 2017.

According to Matt Hughes in Friday's Times:

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Jose Mourinho is expected to sign a new contract with Chelsea in the summer. The manager will have two years remaining on his deal at the end of the season, but the Barclays Premier League leaders are eager to secure his long-term future by offering him a new four-year package.

Mourinho has indicated his willingness to commit to the club beyond his present deal, although with Chelsea engaged in a busy schedule of three matches a week as they seek to win the Premier League, Champions League and Capital One Cup, the negotiations have been placed on hold until the end of the campaign.

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Hughes goes on to report that Mourinho could earn an increase on his current £8.5 million-a-year salary, underlining the value assigned to a manager in the modern game. That works out at more than £160,000 a week, making Mourinho better paid than all but a handful of the players he coaches (Eden Hazard recently signed a new deal believed to be worth around £10 million annually).

Some will say that makes little sense, considering Mourinho never actually kicks a ball, never mind provides the assists and goals that Hazard does, but the overriding importance placed on the manager is something we see in the English game every week.

Tim Sherwood, with six months of managerial experience in his pocket, arrived at Aston Villa and was immediately hailed as their saviour despite replacing someone, Paul Lambert, who had a far more rounded CV behind him when he came to Villa Park. Similarly, Alan Pardew and Tony Pulis both recently arrived at new clubs and were immediately expected to improve things considerably in a way one signing never could.

Managers are often characterised as the be-all and end-all of a team's success, and after a while, new is seemingly always considered to be better than familiar. The money gained by staying in the Premier League only adds to the pressure at the bottom end of the table, with owners increasingly willing to roll the dice in order to give their side every chance of staying part of the money club.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

As we enter the final third of the campaign, however, this is the time when managers really earn their corn. With fatigue afflicting many players and the games increasing in pressure and significance, this is the point when managers can really affect things with their selections and approaches.

Mourinho is a undoubtedly a successful manager, but the aforementioned Times article points out that the trophies he wins between now and the end of the season will still have a big say in any pay rise he receives.

At the bottom of the table it will be interesting to see whether those clubs that have stuck with their managers—Burnley, Hull City and Leicester City (for now)—are rewarded for such patience and continuity, or those who pulled the trigger on their bosses—Aston Villa, Queens Park Rangers, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace—reap the rewards for rolling the dice.

However things pan out, it is the managers, not the players, who will bear the brunt of the focus.

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Week 26 Fixtures

All games 3 p.m. GMT (10 a.m. ET) unless otherwise stated.

Saturday

• Aston Villa vs. Stoke City
• Chelsea vs. Burnley
• Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal
• Hull City vs. QPR
• Sunderland vs. West Brom
• Swansea City vs. Manchester United
• Manchester City vs. Newcastle United (5:30 p.m.)

Sunday

• Tottenham Hotspur vs. West Ham United (12 p.m.)
• Everton vs. Leicester City (2:05 p.m.)
• Southampton vs. Liverpool (4:15 p.m.)

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1. What to Watch for This Week

Will Cuadrado or Bony Make the Biggest Impact?

While Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain was undoubtedly an acceptable result, many observers could not help but point out that Mourinho's side looked somewhat weary throughout the game, with a little less vim about their play than earlier in the campaign. That is perhaps less than surprising, considering the limited rotation Mourinho has employed in some key areas of his team.

The January signing of Juan Cuadrado immediately injected some fresh blood (if not fresh legs: Cuadrado played 24 games for Fiorentina this season) into the squad with the hope that the Colombian would make an impact over the second half of the campaign.

The signing seemed to be a response to Manchester City, who added Wilfried Bony at the start of the window to enhance their own striking options. Finally available after contributing to Ivory Coast's Africa Cup of Nations victory, Bony and Cuadrado will go head-to-head over the rest of this campaign.

Considering his familiarity with the Premier League, it seems likely that Bony will have the more instant impact of the two. But Chelsea will need Cuadrado to make his presence known, especially considering the club shipped out Andre Schurrle and Mohamed Salah to facilitate his arrival.

That could start against Burnley and their organised but limited defence, a game that could provide the perfect opportunity to gain some confidence. 

The Life and Times of Tim

It may never get better than this for Sherwood, a man hailed as the saviour of a potentially huge Premier League side.

Many greeted Aston Villa's victory over Leicester City in his first game in charge (albeit one he watched from the stands) as the start of better days to come, yet Sherwood's opening press conference left very real questions about his tactical acumen.

At Spurs, some believe that Chris Ramsey was the brains behind much of the game plan, with Sherwood looking more at the man-management and personnel side of things. With Ramsey and Les Ferdinand now entrenched at QPR, Sherwood is without his usual support stuff, heightening the importance of those coaches he employs around him.

Sherwood has not tired of telling people of his good record at Spurs, but he also took a couple of thumpings against good sides. If he can make Christian Benteke fire like he did Emmanuel Adebayor, then that alone might be enough to save Villa this season. However, if he cannot do that, you wonder if things could go south quickly and have Sherwood eventually looking back at this moment as the time when his reputation was at its highest.

Toffees Finally Getting into Gear?

It has been difficult to reconcile the Everton that has played in the Europa League this season with the one that has toiled away domestically.

On the continent, Roberto Martinez's side have beaten Wolfsburg—one of the best teams outside the Champions League this term—and on Thursday, they thumped Young Boys, 4-1. Yet in the league, they have struggled to produce such positive results with any consistency.

"I think we are the best team in this competition," Romelu Lukaku said, per Joe Rimmer of the Liverpool Echo. "You can see it in our performances. We have only lost one time. The performances throughout the competition were brilliant, so I think we don't have to be scared of other teams."

That domestic inconsistency arguably started on the very first day of the season, when they played to a 2-2 draw with a Leicester City side that most expected them to beat. The two sides meet again at Goodison Park on Saturday, with Leicester bottom and Everton hoping to push into the top half with a sustained run of form.

A display similar to the one in Switzerland might help achieve that, but Everton have been anything but reliable in the Premier League this term.

Poyet and the Pen

Fresh off the disappointment of an FA Cup loss to Bradford City, Sunderland manager Gus Poyet responded to fierce criticism about his team's poor performances and his own inability to shoulder responsibility with an open letter to supporters.

Poyet wrote:

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... [L]et's make sure that we don’t let anyone...break our relationship. I promise you that I care and want to win as much as you do and no one thinks more time every day about the team than I do, so I invite all of you to stay positive, to be strong, closer to each other and keep believing in what we started together last year, working harder to make it better this season.

To finish I would like to clarify once more: the main responsible of the results of our team is me. I always said it and I will always accept my responsibility.

I am really looking forward to see[ing] the Stadium of Light packed on Saturday, pushing the team to what could be a very important victory.

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It will be interesting to see how the fans respond. Actions are more important than words, however, and it is perhaps a win against West Brom that will really have the most important impact on Poyet's relationship with the fans.

2. Video of the Week

3. Player to Watch

Adam Lallana

As Liverpool head south to face Southampton on Sunday, a number of former Saints players will get their first taste of being on the opposition side at St Mary's. That adds additional intrigue and pressure to the occasion, something Brendan Rodgers might not appreciate, considering the importance of the game in the context of the Premier League.

The Reds, four points behind Ronald Koeman's side in the table, can scarcely afford to lose the game, meaning Rodgers will need the likes of Adam Lallana to rise above the individual importance of the occasion to deliver a professional display.

That might be hard for Lallana, who spent 12 years with Saints before leaving in the summer in less than ideal circumstances, having reportedly gone to some lengths to force through a transfer that, at this moment in time, does not look like a huge improvement.

Lallana spoke to BBC Radio Solent ahead of the game:

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I'm not stupid enough to think the way I left didn't leave a sour taste in a few people's mouths.

I regret the way I left. I regret bits and pieces of how it happened and it got nasty. It was sad the way it happened. What is true is that when I knew of Liverpool's interest and that they had put a bid in, I did say to the club it would be my wish if they could negotiate a fee for me to move on.

Not for one second did I say I wouldn't play for the club again. I'm man enough to say it was my choice and my decision for me to move on.

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Now is the time for Lallana to justify that decision by producing a performance against his former club that enables his current one to go some way to achieving their aspirations.

Jamie McDonald/Getty Images

4. Game of the Weekend

Tottenham vs. West Ham

Generally known as one of the less notable London derbies, Spurs against West Ham is quickly taking on a significant amount of added spice and intensity.

That is in part a result of the two teams getting closer on the pitch (Spurs snatching an undeserved, very late 1-0 win at Upton Park on the opening day of the season) and also a result of events off it, with West Ham winning the right to the Olympic Stadium seemingly souring relations between the two clubs.

On transfer deadline day, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy vetoed Emmanuel Adebayor's loan move to the Hammers—Spurs were willing to let the striker go, just not to Sam Allardyce's team. It seemed a decision borne out of personal reasons as much as professional ones.

The Olympic Stadium is a huge feather in West Ham's cap, a potential game changer that could elevate them into England's elite. Spurs might be the first club to be acutely aware of this—not just because they wanted the Olympic site themselves but because they are now building a new stadium that is going to cost them a huge amount in time and effort.

For now, Spurs still hold the advantage, with recent results meaning they are perhaps the only club of the two that can still realistically contend for Champions League qualification over the remainder of the season. That requires them to keep winning, however, even with the additional strain of Europa League matches—especially at home.

West Ham's time looks set to come, but they can strike another huge blow against their near-rivals with a victory at White Hart Lane on Sunday.