Pep will remain under the microscope no matter what happens against Arsenal
IT DIDN’T TAKE long for that fall from grace. As much as Pep Guardiola has spoken about expecting a tough ride in the Premier League, surely he never quite expected this? There’s a dysfunction to the English top-flight, exemplified perfectly by the recent, relentless criticisms of the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach. Things have got so out of control that the opinions of Stan Collymore were brought up at a press conference. Deary me.
How dare the pesky Catalan, with his turtle-necks and trainers, come to the Premier League with a pre-determined style and his own ideas of how to coach teams! How dare he look so cheaply upon the art of tackling! The smugness! The cheek!
The irony is that when so many bleat on about managers needing time, some are clearly the exception. It’s not that long ago that Guardiola, when things were going well, was being quizzed about winning four trophies this season. But we dare and remember that. It’s far too long ago. The only thing that matters right now is John Stones’ catalogue of errors and a dodgy goalkeeper.
Of course, there have been problems. Like what Antonio Conte experienced earlier in the campaign when, after two successive defeats, he was asked about the possibility of being sacked. In October. He laughed. Because it was funny. No one else saw it like that. This ‘manager under pressure’ angle is serious business in the Premier League.
Arsenal on Sunday represents a tough task for Guardiola and there’s the potential that this needs to get worse before it gets better. He’s missing Ilkay Gundogan (out for the remainder of the season) and the suspended duo of Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero. But the Gunners were shook by that midweek defeat to Everton and it will be interesting to see their response.
Either way, Guardiola will continue to be ridiculed whatever happens. The outlier is just a little too ‘out there’ for what the English top-flight wants.
West Brom have some form behind them ahead of United test
Some of the nicest goals midweek came at The Hawthorns as West Brom put three past a rather hapless Swansea.
Salomon Rondon conjured a most unique hat-trick: three headers and the result extended the Baggies’ recent good run. From their last six games, they’ve lost just once and that was a narrow 1-0 defeat to the best team in the league.
At home, they’ve been very strong and pretty ruthless in front of goal. Three against the Swans, three against Watford and four against Burnley. Yes, they got thumped by Manchester City in front of their own fans earlier in the season but they held Tottenham and put four past West Ham too.
The good run has them up to seventh – four points behind the team they face on Saturday.
United are on a decent run though it’s nothing to get carried away with. The 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace was lauded as some big breakthrough but they’re already 13 points from the summit and hugely adrift of the top-four. They have players to conjure moments – Ibrahimovic and Pogba – but West Brom won’t fear that.
They’re dangerous from set-pieces (McAuley and Olsson), possess some great quality in wide areas (Brunt), some nimble, diligent minds in the final third (Morrisson, Philips, Chadli) and a striker in form.
Chelsea can take advantage of unique weekend
Liverpool aren’t in action while Arsenal and Manchester City play 24 hours later with the genuine possibility of taking points from each other.
So, what an excellent position for Chelsea to be in.
Antonio Conte’s side take on Crystal Palace in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off and can move nine points clear at the top of the table should they conjure a victory.
The Italian has little to worry about with a settled side and an impressive calibre of recent performances. There was the eye-catching 5-0 thrashing of Everton and statement victory over Manchester City. But undoubtedly, Conte has been most pleased with the graft displayed in their two most recent games – back-to-back 1-0 wins over West Brom and Sunderland.
Right now, Chelsea are boringly efficient and incredibly worthy of top spot. Already, it seems, others are requiring snookers.
Tottenham need to keep pushing to avoid being cut adrift
Currently in fifth place, Spurs are holding their own. They’re digging in. But as Danny Rose admitted after their 3-0 win over Hull, the side has been in third gear in comparison to last season.
Mauricio Pochettino is trying to freshen things up. Last time out, he went with three at the back for only the second time this term – something he didn’t reveal to the players until two hours before kick-off.
It worked a treat and Christian Eriksen enjoyed the freedom of a central midfield role by scoring twice. Only an upright denied him a hat-trick, though the rebound fell for Victor Wanyama who tucked home.
Both Rose and Kyle Walker enjoyed freedom too – dominating the flanks throughout.
Tottenham face Burnley on Sunday and should have enough to win. But you get the impression that a setback or drop in form could have substantial repercussions. Manchester United are three points behind and seemingly picking up the pace.
But, with an intense top-four, it was always likely Tottenham would be on the periphery. Perhaps this is their ceiling. And maybe there’s not a lot wrong with that either.
Do we have a genuine relegation battle this season?
Currently, five points separate the bottom seven teams in the league. Right now, no side seems to be capable of getting a run together and pulling away.
This weekend, there are a host of fixtures involving sides that are – whether they like it or not – battling to stay up.
Middlesbrough take on Swansea, Stoke face Leicester, it’s Sunderland v Watford and West Ham against Hull.
It’s way too early to use a term like ‘relegation six-pointer’ but a litany of teams are in dire need of some festive cheer. And, it makes things all the more interesting when there’s a genuine scrap from early in the campaign.
Many sides are at a similar level and will take points from each other all the way through until May and that’s certainly something to look forward to.
