1. Gerrard revisits his and Liverpool’s dark day
SIX MONTHS AFTER it happened it remains quite haunting. It will go down as one of those Premier League ‘moments’ – the day Steven Gerrard slipped and lost Liverpool the league. Of course, it’s a little more complex than that but the psychological ramifications of the team losing 0-2 at home to Chelsea were monumental.
In the next game against Crystal Palace, Liverpool needed to score goals. At 3-0 up, they still wanted more. And we all know how the story ended.
But there’s an added intrigue to tomorrow’s lunchtime fixture – that bizarre midweek Champions League game against Real Madrid, where Brendan Rodgers left all of his big players on the bench in preparation for this forthcoming assignment at Anfield.
It was difficult to find any reasonable explanation for the decision. Liverpool had yearned for the Champions League for so long though none of the team’s best players were selected for a mouthwatering tie at the Bernabeu. Also, such a decision has placed enormous pressure on Liverpool to get a result tomorrow. If they don’t, then Rodgers will come in for plenty of criticism.
But, there’s a bigger issue should Liverpool struggle: they’ll have won just two games from their last seven and they’ll slip to a negative goal difference.
So much has changed in six months.
2. Will there be a European hangover for Manchester City?
If Liverpool v Chelsea brings up memories from the past, so does a fixture between QPR and Manchester City.
Often forgotten in the haze of ‘Aguerooooooooo’ and the subsequent celebrations is that the Londoners led 2-1 after 92 minutes. And in recent years, QPR have always seemed to step up to the plate against City.
Before they dropped to the Championship, QPR faced City four times in the league between 2011 and 2013. Yes, City won three of the games but none of them were easy. There were a couple of 3-2 wins and a 3-1 victory while their last encounter was a scoreless draw. QPR have been competitive on each occasion.
Factor in another embarrassing European night for City during the week and QPR’s recent run of solid performances (they should’ve got something against Liverpool, ran Chelsea mightily close and picked up a 2-0 win over Aston Villa) as well as Charlie Austin’s good form, this has all the hallmarks of a potential banana-skin.
3. Southampton’s unlikely success likely to continue
The Saints have gone marching in this season, despite the massive upheaval in the dressing room. Somehow, Ronald Koeman has overseen an incredible start to the campaign and has gleefully watched two of his summer signings excel in the opening ten games.
Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic (both brought in from the Dutch top-flight) were warned by their new manager early on that they needed to be aggressive in the Premier League but they’ve seemingly had little problem in acclimatising to their new surroundings. Pelle has scored 9 in all competitions so far (6 in the league) while Tadic has cropped up with one league goal against Sunderland but has contributed six assists.
And one statistic stands out. Southampton are hitting the target at a more clinical rate than other teams. On average, they’re taking 13.7 shots on goal and 5.4 of them are on target. Compare this to the wild figures from Man City and Arsenal: 17.4/5.9 and 17.3/5.6 and Southampton’s attackers are economical.
At home to a struggling Leicester tomorrow, they’ll add to those impressive figures.
4. What will Manchester United’s defence look like?
When Marcos Rojo was prone on the ground at the Etihad last weekend, screaming out in pain and taking oxygen to cope with the agony of his just-dislocated shoulder, there was a collective groan from every United fan – another injury to a defender.
At least it’s entertaining to see Louis van Gaal desperately try and cobble a back-four together owing to a mixture of battered limbs and suspensions. Against City, United ended the game with Valencia on the right, Shaw on the left and Carrick and McNair in the middle.
Facing Crystal Palace tomorrow, it’s likely United will offer-up a similar foursome though Van Gaal will hope Rafael can shake off the knock that forced his absence from the derby and that he can get Jonny Evans back sooner rather than later.
5. A battle of the renaissance teams at the Hawthorns
Both West Brom and Newcastle have lost just once from their last six league games. But it’s the Baggies that have been the bigger surprise.
There wasn’t much of a reaction to Alan Irvine’s low-key appointment as manager, though when people did offer an opinion it wasn’t very complimentary. Having served as an assistant for so long, his management career has been uninspiring but he finally seems to have found a rhythm at the Hawthorns after a winless first five games. The recent success over Leicester was their first in a while though and that, as well as Saido Berahino’s international call-up, should give them plenty of confidence heading into the Newcastle clash.
For the Magpies, it will be hard to top last week. Successive wins over Manchester City and Liverpool was cause for major celebration though inconsistency is the core problem for Newcastle so undoing all their recent good work with a stumble against West Brom isn’t outside the realms of possibility.
