(Football news) Sir Alex Ferguson once famously said “Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour. You cannot do anything about that. They will always be noisy. You just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder." The neighbour that was obviously being referred to was Manchester City, historically a club that has played second fiddle to Manchester United until of course the last decade or so.
Pep Guardiola’s team is no longer the “noisy neighbour” but a trophy laden team that are the current champions of England. The tables have turned so spectacularly that City find themselves where United did under the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson, while Solskjaer continues to hold his job despite a series of poor results largely covered by the immense quality the Norwegian has at his disposal. Two places and three points separate the two rivals with Solskjaer’s team facing a much tougher test this time around that Nuno Espirito Santo’s Tottenham Hotspur team.
Manchester United have taken only one point from their last three home games and have failed to keep a clean sheet since April against Granada. Pep Guardiola will be desperate for a result as City lost to Crystal Palace 2-0 last week and will look to make amends in this important fixture. Paul Pogba will be unavailable for selection as the Frenchman is serving his second of the three match ban while Raphael Varane is out for a month with a hamstring injury. Victor Lindelof is a doubt as the Swede is currently recovering from a knock with Solskjaer expected to go for Eric Bailly and Harry Maguire if Lindelof doesn’t recover in time.
For Manchester City, Ferran Torres is out with a long term injury while Laporte is unavailable after receiving a red card against Crystal Palace. John Stones is expected to partner Reuben Dias and Kevin De Bruyne should start, having played only 15 minutes in the Champions League midweek. Foden is expected to be an integral member alongside Jack Grealish and Gabriel Jesus while Sterling is expected to be on the bench, having failed to score against the Red Devils in 23 games.
Premier League leaders Chelsea will face Burnley this weekend and are currently three points ahead of 2nd place Liverpool. Thomas Tuchel’s team may have a fair few injuries, but 10 goals in their last two league games has proved that they are dealing with the situation well enough. Christian Pulisic is expected to feature, the American returned to action against Malmo in the Champions League and provides Tuchel an attacking option while Mason Mount remains doubtful as he is recovering from an illness and the Blues will also be without Romelu Lukaku, Mateo Kovacic and Timo Werner. For Burnley, manager Sean Dyche has confirmed that Dale Stephens is still recovering from a foot injury while Aaron Lennon is unwell. Anything apart from three points to Chelsea would be considered an upset in this fixture.
Arsenal are set to host Watford at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, hoping to continue their fine form as the Gunners are unbeaten in nine games. Mikel Arteta is expected to name an unchanged lineup from the team that impressively defeated Leicester City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium as captain Granit Xhaka remains sidelined due to injury while Kieron Tierney is doubtful due to an ankle injury. For Watford, striker Emmanuel Dennis will be back after being suspended while Etebo and Kabasele are unavailable due to injury. Arsenal are expected to maintain their unbeaten run and secure all three points against Claudio Ranieri’s Watford.
Liverpool will face a stiff test as they visit the London Stadium to take on West Ham in the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp’s men had a disappointing result last week with a 2-2 draw against Brighton at Anfield and will look to make amends to ensure they are still within touching distance of leaders Chelsea. West Ham have won four and lost one in their last five Premier League games while Liverpool have won three and drawn two with only two points separating the sides. The Reds will be without James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita and Harvey Elliot while Joe Gomez and Curtis Jones remain doubtful. The result is impossible to predict but Liverpool should have the edge to secure all three points.
