Will there be a European hangover for the league leaders?
Going by his performance during the traditional Friday press conference, Jose Mourinho has been riled by the criticisms dished out to his side in the aftermath of their Champions League exit to Paris St-Germain midweek.
As much as he’s supposedly older and wiser, he still couldn’t refuse a few sly digs at Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness, insinuating the pair are envious of him.
Tetchy, certainly. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be when he swapped Madrid for London. He wanted to go where he was loved. Now it seems that English football may be growing increasingly irritated by him and his behaviour.
Still, given his man-management skills and the relationship he has with his players, there is bound to be a Chelsea reaction against Southampton on Sunday.
It promises to be a tight affair though, as it was when the sides met in late-December. And with a genuine perception that Chelsea already have the title wrapped up, it seems such a mindset has filtered through to the players.
Five points clear with a game in hand, it’s natural to relax. Chelsea have been a cut above this term and deserve another league success. But Mourinho will want to avoid further examination by sprinting rather than swaggering over the finish line.
Big chance for Sherwood to build Villa momentum
Sunderland have won just two games at the Stadium of Light this season and they’ve managed twelve goals. Only Villa have scored less on home soil. So, good news for Tim Sherwood that his team are travelling to the North East on Saturday and it gives him a great chance to keep up his recent good form.
The former Spurs’ boss has overseen just one away game so far – the 0-1 defeat to Newcastle at the end of February. But, he’ll be buoyed by the fact his team, struggling so badly in the final third for so much of the campaign, have scored four times in their last two matches while the goals have come from four different players too – a positive when faced with a relegation battle.
In Sunderland’s last two league games at home, they’ve failed to find the net. Gus Poyet will take some comfort from the way his players dug in and picked up a point midweek away to Hull but it seems nicely poised for Villa to pick up a point at least.
Tottenham look to do the Old Trafford treble
This fixture used to be a relentlessly sticky one for Spurs. United’s record against the North Londoners was mightily impressive until September 2012, when Tottenham scored twice inside the opening half hour (Gareth Bale memorably streaking clear of a faltering Rio Ferdinand) and hung on to beat their hosts 3-2.
Last season, Spurs did it again – goals from Adebayor and Eriksen ensuring a 2-1 victory. So, on Sunday, they’ll be hoping for a three-in-a-row and going by the dark cloud that’s been hovering over the Theatre of Dreams for the last few weeks and months, they’ll fancy their chances.
With successive wins under their belts, confidence is high and led by the immense goal-scoring form of Harry Kane, they’ve got a consistent source of inspiration. Throw in the always-threatening Eriksen and the quiet efficiency of Ryan Mason and this is a solid group.
What they face this weekend is a disparate, strange pack of under-performing superstars and error-prone reliables. However, United played relatively well against Arsenal with a quicker tempo and more purpose in the final third. And exiting the FA Cup in such circumstances will surely elicit a response. Now, the only thing to focus on is a top-four finish. Without it, the season has been a disappointment.
With games against Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal to come, Louis van Gaal’s side need all three points this weekend. But nothing can be taken for granted when it comes to Manchester United anymore.
Is Bony set to finally blossom against Burnley?
The curious case of Wilfried Bony. Signed for £28m in January, he was brought into the club to help push City towards retaining their title. His arrival was supposed to spark a flurry of impressive results but he’s still failed to score.
Away to Burnley in Saturday’s evening kick-off, he’ll be afforded another chance to get off the mark. In the back of his mind will probably be City’s last outing against struggling Leicester where he was taken off after 72 minutes and his replacement, James Milner, popped up to score the decisive second goal.
With a Champions League second leg against Barcelona next week, it’s imperative that City head into the fixture on a wave of confidence. Should they struggle against Burnley, the trip to the Camp Nou will look even more imposing.
Earlier in the campaign, Sergio Aguero was unplayable. In recent weeks, rather inevitably, his form has tailed off and there’s been no player able to take up the responsibility in front of goal. It’s time for Bony to change that.
Toffees’s awful form could drag them into relegation battle
Even with Everton’s Europa League run, this season has been a miserable one for Roberto Martinez’ side.
They’ve managed just one win in 2015 and are six points above the drop-zone ahead of their clash with Newcastle on Sunday afternoon. Perhaps most worryingly of all for the Toffees though is their inability to get results in the direct aftermath of European assignments.
Twice they’ve managed to win a game that directly followed a Thursday evening tie. They’ve played eight times in the Europa League so far. That’s a miserable return and they can’t afford to keep on dropping points so frivolously. To put it in context, as bad as Aston Villa have been this season, they’ll go level on points with Everton should they beat Sunderland the the Merseysiders lose to the Magpies.
With 10 games left in the campaign, Everton need to start pushing or they’ll get pulled into the frenzied fight for survival.
