Premier League Weekend Preview
By Charlie Bennett
The Premier League campaign is almost a third of the way through and with Christmas now less than a month away, we are heading for a crucial period at both the top and bottom.
Round 13 sees Manchester United head to Chelsea on Sunday in the game of the week, while there are plenty storylines up and down the league.
So, with that in mind, let’s check out the talking points.
Howe has no time to lose
Eddie Howe has barely had time to sip a Brown Ale but he’s already under pressure to deliver results at Newcastle.
Norwich’s upturn in form has left the Magpies bottom of the table and they are now five points adrift of safety.
January, it seems, can’t come soon enough, when Howe will have access to the bottomless pit of cash Newcastle now have at their disposal. But there are seven games between now and then and if they fall much further behind in their battle to stay up, some of their leading targets may be more reluctant to join a team heading for the Championship.
They start a crucial stretch of games at Arsenal, a team they have lost to in 16 of their last 17 meetings. Lose again and they could be as many as eight points away from 17th, and with games against Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City to come before New Year, the heat is very much on.
The Benteke derby
Among active Premier League players, Christian Benteke is third in line to be the 100 Club’s latest inductee – his 86 goals a testament to longevity.
Only Raheem Sterling (98) and Cristiano Ronaldo (88) have more among current players yet to reach three figures and the Belgian is currently bang in form.
Five goals in his last six games have helped the Eagles to 10th place in their first season under Patrick Vieira, and they could be as high as sixth come the end of the weekend. Vieira has revitalised Benteke, who bagged just six league goals altogether between 2017 and 2020.
A goalless draw at Carrow Road?
Between them, Norwich and Wolves have scored just 19 goals from 24 Premier League games this season – their individual totals of seven and 12 enough for the fewest and joint-fourth fewest in the division.
The TV execs have done well to avoid showing this one then, though Wolves manager Bruno Lage will no doubt be eyeing their trip to East Anglia as a chance for his forwards to gain some confidence.
Norwich have conceded a league-high 27 goals but new manager Dean Smith has reinvigorated them since arriving earlier this month. The defence still needs work but with neither attack particularly sharp, a goalless draw could be on the cards.
Thiago’s time?
Even Manchester United the most hardcore Manchester United fan would have secretly admired Thiago’s Champions League goal on Wednesday night.
His strike, a sweet half-volley that grazed the pitch on its way to the bottom corner, opened the scoring in Liverpool’s 2-0 win and offered a timely reminder of his immense ability.
Injuries have disrupted Thiago’s first 18 months on Merseyside but at his best he’s a controlling presence, creative thinker and technically perfect footballer that will improve every team he graces.
On Saturday, he has a chance to build on that against Southampton, who sit comfortably in mid-table, in a game Liverpool will be expected to dominate.
Brighton have edge on Leeds
Following their red-hot start to the Premier League season, Brighton’s form has tailed off and they have not tasted success since a 2-1 win against Leicester on September 19.
Graham Potter will be starting to get desperate and on Saturday his team have the perfect opponent to put things right: Leeds.
Leeds’ shaky form has been one of the most underrated storylines of the season and they start the weekend in 17th place, with just two wins from 12.
The Seagulls won both of their fixtures against Leeds last season, scored three times and didn’t concede, as they dominated both match-ups.
To add to the bad omens, Leeds have lost seven of their last eight games against Brighton and all of their last five at the Amex.
Derby day in sight for desperate Everton
There would have been just one game Rafa Benitez searched for when the Premier League fixtures were released in June, and his first Merseyside derby against Liverpool is now in sight.
Wednesday night will see Benitez’s Everton host his former side Liverpool at Goodison Park but it could not be coming at a worse time for the beleaguered Spaniard, who has seen his side slip to four defeats from five.
A thin squad has been unable to cope with injuries to several key players and with Liverpool dominating the rivalry in recent years and an in-form Arsenal on the schedule soon after, the wheels are in danger of falling off.
Sunday’s trip to Brentford is crucial then and Benitez knows he needs to win against a team that has also lost four of five.
Can Conte get Sessegnon firing?
When Tottenham signed Ryan Sessegnon from Fulham in 2019, the general consensus was that they had found their left-back for the next decade.
The reality has been anything but, with Sessegnon loaned out under Jose Mourinho and frozen out under Nuno Santo.
But an injury to Cristian Romero has opened a door for the England U21 international and new manager Antonio Conte is ready to hand him a chance, first in the Europa Conference League and then perhaps the Premier League.
Burnley, who start the weekend in the bottom three, could be the perfect opponent to re-introduce the talented full-back to the top flight after his red card against NS Mura in midweek.
Rodgers under pressure at Leicester
The papers might have Brendan Rodgers on Manchester United’s shortlist but the Leicester manager is fighting to keep his current job rather than eyeing up the next.
After back-to-back fifth-place finishes, Leicester have slumped to 12th this season and have not won in three games, while Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea was alarming.
Rodgers deserves the benefit of the doubt after a stellar two seasons but next up is Watford and a return to the King Power for Claudio Ranieri, who won the Premier League with the Foxes five years ago. If Rodgers loses that, the pressure will be on.
City about to go on a run?
On New Year’s Day 2021, Manchester United beat Aston Villa to move level on points with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League. Manchester City were five points off the pace in eighth, and an epic title fight appeared to be on the cards.
But City ruined everyone’s fun by just being too good. From New Year’s Day onwards, Manchester City went on a 13-game winning run that crushed their rivals and saw them cruise to a fifth Premier League title with three games to spare.
With three teams separated by four points this year, we are again dreaming of a tight fight to the bitter end. But anyone who saw City dispatch Everton last week and then outclass PSG in mid-week will recognise the warning signs.
When City get on a run, they are impossible to stop and recent history suggests no-one can live with them if they start compiling win after win. And with no ‘big six’ team on the fixture list until January 1, the next few weeks provide a golden opportunity to hit the accelerator again, with West Ham Sunday’s visitors.
Can United rally at Chelsea?
Stamford Bridge used to be something of a bogey ground for Manchester United but they have won three of their last four matches away to Chelsea and have little to fear ahead of Sunday’s trip to the leaders.
Little is expected of managerless United and in many ways this is a free swing under interim boss Michael Carrick, just like it was for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when he became interim boss three years ago.
Solskjaer led United to a 12-match unbeaten run in the Premier League on his way to becoming the permanent boss and though Carrick is unlikely to get the job fulltime, he does have a squad more than capable of bloodying Chelsea’s nose.
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