The Sunday Mail
Manchester City have another chance to ratchet up the pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool today, as both teams seek to recover from disappointing midweek results.
Pep Guardiola’s defending champions, who host Arsenal this evening, had the opportunity to cut Liverpool’s lead to a single point on Tuesday, at least temporarily, but slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Newcastle.
Jurgen Klopp’s team, who face a tricky-looking trip to West Ham tomorrow, were then unable to fully capitalise, and held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester the following evening.
Adding to the intrigue, Tottenham, for many weeks on the fringes of the title race, are now just two points behind City despite being without the injured Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
AFP Sports picks out some of the main talking points ahead of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures.
Liverpool looked on course to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League when Sadio Mane gave them an early lead against Leicester but they were pegged back and had to settle for a draw.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are five points clear of Manchester City with 14 games to go but former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand suggested nerves are already playing a part at Anfield.
“That is something Klopp will have to address,” said the BT Sport pundit.
“You don’t want to see nerves at this stage, this is early.
“I think they looked nervous, the crowd were nervous and it fed into the players.”
for their part, Manchester City enjoyed more than three-quarters of the possession against Newcastle but still ended on the losing side – their fourth Premier League defeat of the season.
Guardiola’s team appeared to have put December’s wobble behind them and had smashed in 29 goals without reply in all competitions going into the match at St James’s Park.
Their past three league defeats have come in games in which they have taken the lead, a run the manager will be desperate to end.
Manchester United, away to Leicester in today’s early kick off, were sixth when manager Jose Mourinho was sacked in December.
Now they are… sixth.
Six consecutive league wins under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before Tuesday’s draw against Burnley mean United have closed the gap on Chelsea and Arsenal to just two points after being 11 points off the top four when the Portuguese was dismissed.
The progress under the interim boss has been stark, but fans will be anxious to see concrete proof that they are heading in the right direction.
Also in contention for a top four finish are Arsenal who will likely hand new signing Denis Suarez his first start today.
Arsenal head coach Unai Emery is ready to throw Suarez in at the deep end, when the Gunners make the trip to the Etihad Stadium.
The 25-year-old, who made two senior appearances for City during an earlier spell at the club, was the only arrival for Arsenal, who were hamstrung by a lack of funds for permanent signings.
The loan deal includes the option to sign Suarez fulltime in the summer as the Spain international links up with Emery again, having played under his compatriot at Sevilla.
“I will make my decision tomorrow (today) but if he starts I have confidence in him,” Emery said when asked if Suarez would go straight into the Arsenal team.
“I know the player and he started to train individually yesterday (Friday). It’s good, his adaptation has been quick.
“He’s a player with quality and I think he can help us with his quality and also his ambition to do something important here.
“It’s a good challenge for him to help us.”
Pep Guardiola’s side were Emery’s first opponents in English football as they ruined his debut by winning 2-0 at Arsenal in August.
Emery is expecting another difficult test but said his players were keen to show their abilities against such strong opponents.
“It will be a tough match – we are playing against the best.
“When they are home for us it is difficult. But we want to show everybody we can play. Every player has a big ambition to show their best quality,” he said
While Suarez is in contention to make his debut, Emery has also been handed a boost by the news that captain Laurent Koscielny is back in training after a jaw injury.-Supersport
