Premier League Notebook Heading into Week 30
As things stand, with about a quarter of the season remaining, one race in the Premier League carries more excitement than any other.
Barring a Chelsea collapse, the title race looks relatively predictable. The relegation scrap is yet to heat up, but the battle for fourth—and that all-important final Champions League qualification spot—is as competitive and unpredictable as it has been for many years.
In recent weeks, Arsenal seem to have manufactured a grip of sorts on third position, although Manchester United remain firmly on their heels. Then come Liverpool, the form side of 2015, with the Reds due to meet United in a huge clash at Anfield on Sunday.
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United won at Old Trafford 3-0 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, but that was before Liverpool had adjusted to the three-man defensive system that has served them so well over the past few months. Even so, Brendan Rodgers' side had the chances to make it an entirely different scoreline.
For United boss Louis van Gaal, brought to United with the specific task of returning United to the Champions League next season, this game might define whether he is successful.
“For our cook, Mike Donnelly, it is THE game!," Van Gaal said in an interview with Henry Winter of The Daily Telegraph that is worth your time. "We have won already two times [against them, including pre-season] this year. But there we don’t win so often.”
The stakes are undoubtedly highest for United—considering the reputation of the club and how much of its commercial power is built on its sustained excellence—but they are hardly insignificant for Liverpool. The progress of last season needs to be built upon if the club is to continue to grow (and retain its better players while signing new ones), and falling back out of Europe's top competition would be a huge setback in that regard.
Rodgers' side have the advantage of home support, but they will need to produce a better performance than they managed in the win over Swansea City if they are to be victorious again—especially as United produced arguably the best 45 minutes of their season to date in the 3-0 beating of Tottenham Hotspur last time out.
As Adam Lallana told the Guardian:
"Chelsea, Manchester City, us and Arsenal [will finish in the top four]. I am confident we can finish in the top four—we just need to remain focused. The next game is obviously going to have a bearing on that, but I don't think it will necessarily prove decisive.
There are still eight games left after Sunday, so there will still be a lot of twists and turns.
United have got Arsenal in their second to last game of the season, Southampton are at City. Anything can still happen. The top four battle involves seven teams this year. It's great for the neutral.
"
Week 30 Fixtures
All games 3 p.m. GMT (11 a.m. ET) unless otherwise stated.
Saturday
Manchester City vs. West Bromwich Albion (12:45 p.m.)
Aston Villa vs. Swansea City
Newcastle United vs. Arsenal
Southampton vs. Burnley
Stoke City vs. Crystal Palace
Tottenham vs. Leicester City
West Ham United vs. Sunderland (5:30 p.m.)
Sunday
Liverpool vs. Manchester United (1:30 p.m.)
Hull City vs. Chelsea (4 p.m.)
Queens Park Rangers vs. Everton (4 p.m.)
1. What to Watch out for This Week
European Failures Refocus on Domestic Domination
The Premier League's sides may have been dumped out of European competition in chastening fashion, but those continental failures return to domestic matters with much still to achieve, and much to prove, before the season ends.
Arsenal may have pulled off a typically Arsenal exit—a valiant, fighting demise in a tie they should have easily won—but that should, in an odd way, give them a certain amount of positive momentum, something they will want to take into their meeting with Newcastle United.
The Magpies have traditionally been a difficult opponent for the Gunners (at St James' Park, at least) but look less structured and confident under John Carver, which could give the Gunners a great opportunity to add another three points to their collection.
That is bad news for Manchester City, whose recent struggles were compounded by their comprehensive loss to Barcelona. They are suddenly in a real fight just to finish second this season, with a potentially winnable home game against West Bromwich Albion made difficult by the energy-sapping venture to the Camp Nou and the revival Tony Pulis has engineered at the Hawthorns.
In some ways, the Baggies look like unwelcome opponents for Manchester City at this point, with their defensive organisation likely to be a problem for City's spluttering attack (who have often struggled for goals against Pulis defences) and the strikeforce of Brown Ideye and Saido Berahino offering a combination of pace and power an out-of-sorts Vincent Kompany may struggle with.
"We are second in league, need to consolidate our position and see where we are over [the last] nine games," Pellegrini said in midweek, per ITV. "We must never give up. We are six points behind Chelsea, so it is difficult, but we still have nine games left. We must focus our minds.
"It is a disappointment not to go through but we have just played the best team in the world."
The game at the Etihad Stadium kicks off the weekend's top-flight action in England, so in many ways City will set the tone for what is to come. It remains to be seen if they can play their way out of their recent struggles.
Sherwood Can Make Real Statement Against Swans
With a 60 per cent win ratio since joining Aston Villa, Tim Sherwood has helped his side find a real rhythm after an initially disappointing start.
They remain in relegation danger but have a certain amount of breathing room. After edging two Midlands derbies and beating a lacklustre Sunderland, winning at home against a well-rounded Swansea side would be another significant step on the road to stability.
How has Sherwood done it? In his column for Bleacher Report on Thursday, ex-Villa striker Stan Collymore offered some insight:
"I talked to [Sherwood] on the phone last week, and I have to admit that with his enthusiasm and his cockiness, he really is incredibly persuasive. As a footballer in the dressing room, as much as the tactical side is important when you are in a relegation situation, the key thing is confidence.
I had spoken to goalkeeper Shay Given after the previous game against West Brom, and he told me how the gaffer hadn’t been happy at half-time—the chalk board went flying, one or true home truths were mentioned. And that’s when they were winning and playing quite well!
So I asked Tim, 'What are you like as a manager?' And he said, 'I give one or two a little tickle, and one or two a smack around the head.' And I think that sort of simple approach from a manager creates an environment whereby you just need to impart a few clear, simple instructions and say you believe in the players to do it.
The differences in performances from the start of the season, it’s light and shade. The attacking forwards are playing with confidence, and that’s a huge difference.
"
Toffees Don't Have Time for Pity
After the disappointment of their Europa League exit at the hands of Dynamo Kyiv, Everton do not have long to curse their luck.
The Ukrainians may have scored with seemingly every shot they took (and been gifted further opportunities by the embarrassingly poor defending of Antolin Alcaraz), but Roberto Martinez's side need to refocus immediately to prevent the disappointment bleeding into their league campaign.
On Sunday, they face Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, a game in which they could elevate themselves further away from the relegation dogfight (they are currently six points above the drop) with a win. Lose, however, and they will be dragged back toward the mire—reinvigorating Chris Ramsey's men in the process.
"It doesn't help us, it doesn't give us an advantage because they have a big squad and a quality manager," Ramsey said when asked about Everton and their travails, per Reuters. "I don't think about the opposition or what problems they might have.
"We need to prepare for each game, make sure we don't give away silly goals as we have been doing, and stay together."
Sunderland in Race Against Time
As Aston Villa reap the rewards of replacing their manager, Sunderland have now done the same. The 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Villans undoubtedly made Gus Poyet's position untenable, and now Dick Advocaat comes in with nine games to save the club—and perhaps land himself a longer-term Premier League job.
Advocaat has never managed in England before, and one wonders how much he knows about his players and the players of other teams. Can he really turn things around immediately? It is noticeable that the Black Cats are the latest relegation-threatened team to change their manager (those who haven't done so yet are surely likely to stick it out with what they've got), and you wonder whether their hesitancy will cost them.
Instead of a Tony Pulis (or a Tim Sherwood!), Sunderland have had to opt for a manager with no Premier League experience and dubious recent pedigree. What might ultimately keep them up is the even greater inferiority of all three of the promoted teams—but that should hardly be a cause for great celebration.
2. Video of the Week
3. Player to Watch
Raheem Sterling
A difference-maker on the pitch and a headline-maker off it, Raheem Sterling is undoubtedly an A-list player in English football these days.
A key component in Liverpool's revival in the second half of the season (although his manager, Brendan Rodgers, deserves credit for the mid-season break he gave the youngster), Sterling is never out of the headlines as speculation over his future continues.
Sterling's current contract expires in 2017, and the player seems determined to get the maximum out of any extension negotiation with Liverpool. The Reds can have a certain amount of calmness about the situation—as Sterling is under 24, the club will get compensation if he does leave when his deal expires—but their failure to tie him down is a major concern with some big clubs already starting to circle.
Real Madrid have previously been linked, while Manchester City have recently been mentioned as strong admirers of the England international. If Sterling were to leave at the end of his contract, the fact any compensation would be decided by a tribunal is a complicating factor—there is no real precedent for such a quality player leaving in such circumstances.
Traditionally, however, tribunals have undervalued players, which is perhaps why Sterling's agents are trying to press the Reds and why other clubs are applying their own pressure.
"It’s important to have English players," Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini told the Guardian this week. "Can you sign them? To improve this squad, you’re talking players you can’t get. Let’s say [Luke] Shaw. £35m on a left‑back because he's English? Can you get [Raheem] Sterling from Liverpool? Maybe if you go with £100m."
Sterling's quality is in little doubt, and the calibre of clubs rumoured to be interested in him only underlines that. But he will need to remember that his primary obligation right now is to Liverpool and that the best way to enhance his value—either within the club or on the open market—is by making a decisive impact in the biggest games.
Manchester United at Anfield certainly falls under that umbrella: After being so lively but so poor in front of goal in the 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford earlier in the season, it will be intriguing to see if he can make amends.
4. Game of the Weekend
Hull City vs. Chelsea
Seven days on from their last game against Southampton, it will be interesting to see if Chelsea have got the issues that have afflicted them in recent matches out of their system. Fatigue has certainly seemed to play a part in the Blues' recent stagnation, so Jose Mourinho may be inclined to make several changes for Sunday's trip to the KC Stadium.
On paper, it looks like the sort of game Chelsea struggled with last season: an away trip to a struggling side doing everything they can to fight for survival. Losses in those sort of games (against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace) ultimately did for their title challenge and, although they have a bit of a cushion this time around, could jeopardise it again this season.
The Blues have the edge, but if Arsenal and Manchester City both win on Saturday, the pressure will suddenly be firmly on their shoulders to deliver the sort of convincing victory many will be expecting.
Hull have more modest aims, of course. Survival is all they care about.
"We've taken nine points from the last six games and got ourselves out of the bottom three," Hull manager Steve Bruce noted on Friday, per Reuters. "If we repeat that [form] over the last nine games it's going to be very difficult for the teams below us."
Starting with a point, or three, in this one would be good.
