(Football news) After the 5-0 humiliation against Liverpool at Old Trafford last weekend, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will travel to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, desperately hoping for a positive result. Manchester United have dropped points in the last four Premier League matches and are currently bottom in the clean sheet record.
It will be interesting to see what changes does Solskjaer make to the starting XI, especially considering that the team on the whole seems to be out of form. Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were particularly poor against Liverpool while Paul Pogba has a three game suspension after being awarded a red card for fouling Naby Keita. Will Donny Van De Beek finally get an opportunity to prove his worth or will Jesse Lingard feature after displaying some impressive performances from the bench? Will Greenwood or Rashford be dropped to accommodate Jadon Sancho? Few can predict what’s going on in Solskjaer’s mind.
Tottenham have had a poor run as well, losing to Vitesse and West Ham 1-0 but advancing to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a 1-0 win over Burnley. The North London side have won five and lost four of their nine Premier League games, collecting 15 points in the process and occupying sixth position on the league table, one ahead of Manchester United. Harry Kane continues to be in poor form, scoring just one goal in the competition and seems to be disenchanted with life at Spurs. Tottenham have defeated Manchester United only once in the last five Premier League meetings, but if there ever was a better time to defeat Solskjaer’s men, it is now.
Premier League leaders Chelsea will hope to cement their position with all three points against Newcastle United. The Blues are in excellent form, scoring seven past Norwich City last weekend and will undoubtedly consider anything less than three points a failure against 19th placed Newcastle. Graeme Jones’ side are yet to win a match in the Premier League and will look to minimize the damage this weekend as they have already conceded 10 goals at home so far, the joint highest. Thomas Tuchel’s men have won 10 out of a possible 12 points away from home so far, conceding only one goal and the team will look to maintain that momentum at St James’ Park this weekend.
Liverpool are on a high, having scored five past their most bitter rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford, the team will be extremely confident as they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield. Mohamed Salah is in the form of his life and is arguably the best player in the world at the moment, the Egyptian would hope to continue his prolific form this weekend as well. Jurgen Klopp’s team are currently second in the Premier League, one point behind Chelsea and a win against Brighton will stretch their unbeaten run to 20 games. They have scored at least two goals in 11 successive matches.
Graham Potter’s Brighton are currently fifth in the league table, a position few would have predicted. The Seagulls are without a win in five matches across all competitions and are level on points with Tottenham Hotspur. Brighton defeated Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield last year, thanks to a goal by Steven Alzate and the side will be happy to take any points off the Reds this time around.
Manchester City will be in a mood for vengeance, having been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by West Ham this mid-week. Pep Guardiola and his team will look for an appropriate reaction as they play hosts to Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium this weekend. The champions of England are in third position, one point behind Liverpool and two behind Chelsea while Crystal Palace are 15th, having drawn their last four matches. City are unbeaten in eight Premier League games and have the second highest number of goals scored at home (12), only behind Chelsea’s 16.
Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace are adequately rested, having not been involved in the Carabao Cup this mid-week and will be eager to convert their draws into wins, having only won three points in a fixture once so far. The Eagles have scored six in their last seven games but have already conceded 10 goals on the road this season and will consider even a point as a good result at the Etihad Stadium, considering that the side lost by an aggregate score of 6-0 last season.
