Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Match Week 24 Preview: Premier League Returns

The Premier League returns with three matches on Tuesday as Match Week 24 is played over the next three days. Frank Lampard manages his first league match in charge of Everton Tuesday when the Toffees head to Newcastle.

Lampard’s side welcomed their new manager with a smashing 4-1 defeat of Brentford in the FA Cup this past weekend. Everton hopes Lampard can reverse the Toffees league slide which sees them just four points above Tuesday’s relegation zone opponent. Newcastle returns from break with several new faces, the Magpies having actively shopped during the transfer window to aid their survival chances. The Northeast club are just a point from safety but received the unfortunate news this week that star striker Callum Wilson will be out much of the season following reassessment of his calf injury.

Manchester United and West Ham draw the other two relegation teams in Tuesday matches. Manchester United stays in the northwest to face bottom of the table Burnley. The Red Devils generally enjoy their visits to Turf Moor, having won there five consecutive times and not having conceded a goal away at Burnley since 2009. West Ham are home to Watford and new Hornets manager Roy Hodgson. Hodgson’s side grabbed a point in a scoreless tussle at Burnley in the manager’s Watford debut over the weekend. The Hornets will face a West Ham side anxious to put an FA Cup scare versus Kidderminster behind them and to renew their Champions League chase. The Hammers enter the week one point behind fourth place Manchester United.

League leading Manchester City host reeling Brentford on Wednesday. The Bees have lost four straight league matches and were stung by Everton in their weekend FA Cup meeting. Manchester City had won 12 consecutive league outings before a draw at Southampton before the break.

The Saints travel to London Wednesday to face Tottenham Hotspur. Southampton could be missing as many as five players to injury when they face Spurs. The London side, meanwhile, have leading scorer Son Heung-min and defender Cristian Romero back in the squad after prolonged injury spells. Antonio Conte lost his first league match in charge of Spurs in a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea before break.

Crystal Palace visits Norwich and Aston Villa are home to Leeds in other Wednesday matches. Norwich is on a surprising two match league winning streak which has pulled the club, at least temporarily, from the relegation places.

Thursday action features a tricky match for Arsenal when the Gunners travel to Wolverhampton. Wolves is just two points behind the sixth place Gunners and has won four times in a five-match unbeaten run. Arsenal’s thin front line will be facing the league’s second stingiest defense in a match where goals should be at a premium.

Thursday’s other match sees Leicester face Liverpool at Anfield. Liverpool is the only Premier League club unbeaten at home this season.


FA Cup Surprises and Near Misses


Premier League clubs had their struggles in the FA Cup 4th Round this weekend. Manchester United exited the tournament when Anthony Elanga missed in penalty kicks after extra time versus Middlesbrough had left the clubs tied at one goal apiece. Middlesbrough were perfect form the penalty spot to advance. Cristiano Ronaldo had missed a penalty try in regular time as the Red Devils squandered many other opportunities in a frustrating loss. The Manchester club’s own failings were compounded when Middlesbrough’s tying goal in regulation time was allowed to stand despite a seeming handball.

Defending Cup holder Leicester lost in far less exciting fashion as the Foxes were overwhelmed 4-1 by Nottingham Forest. It was a second consecutive FA Cup win over a Premier League side by Nottingham Forest which eliminated Arsenal in the prior round.

West Ham struggled as well in the Cup against sixth tier Kidderminster. An historic defeat was narrowly avoided when Declan Rice scored an equalizer in second half stoppage time. Kidderminster hearts were then broken by Jarrod Bowen’s winner in the 121st minute of play.

Chelsea required an extra time goal by Marcos Alonso in a 2-1 defeat of League One Plymouth Argyle. Despite dominating the action, the European champions needed a second half penalty kick save by goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to send the match to extra time.

Norwich won for a third consecutive match across all competitions as the Canaries advanced to the FA Cup’s next round with a surprising 1-0 win at Wolverhampton.

Everton demolished Brentford 4-1 in Frank Lampard’s managerial debut for the Toffees.

Tottenham Hotspur swept Brighton out of the tournament in a 3-1 victory over the Seagulls which featured a brace by Harry Kane.

Manchester City, Liverpool, Southampton, and Crystal Palace advanced with victories over lower division clubs. 


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Friday, February 4, 2022

Premier League European Chase - Beyond The Big Three

Manchester City has the title chase well in hand pending a late charge from most likely challenger Liverpool. Chelsea completes a “big three” which appears a cut above other clubs chasing European places. Below those three, the field is congested with clubs seeking the fourth Champions League spot in the table, the two Europa League places, and the less coveted Europa Conference league berth.

At the winter break, five teams were within four points of that final Champions League spot. Manchester United jumped over Arsenal and West Ham into fourth position by winning its past two contests while the other two clubs dropped points as they stumbled into the break. Despite self-damaging dysfunction and drama, the Red Devils have the strongest roster of those clubs below the big three but need overcome their own internal dysfunction and drama. The arrest of young forward Mason Greenwood for alleged sexual assault is the latest and most disturbing controversy to shake Old Trafford. From a football perspective, Manchester United has the roster depth to manage through Greenwood’s absence which follows on the exile of Anthony Martial and Donny van de Beek on loan as part of the club’s recent transfer window business. Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford can absorb more minutes. Jesse Lingard is more than ready to jump into the fray, having been thwarted in his desire for a transfer to seek playing time elsewhere. Already increasing minutes for young academy product Anthony Elanga had already reduced reliance on Greenwood.

West Ham has no such plethora of roster options. The fifth place Hammers have lost two straight and four of their last six league contests and Champions League qualification probably required a more active January window to supplement their striking capability and perhaps their center back depth. The oft injured Michail Antoinio continues to carry too much of the scoring burden for the Hammers. Forward Jarrod Bowen could be employed in an unaccustomed central striking role given the lack of options for the Hammers.

Arsenal, currently positioned for Europa League, also has questions in attack. Their star striker and manager could not get along and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a Gunner no more. Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah do not inspire confidence. Gabriel Martinelli could be the X-factor for the north London club. As with Bowen, Martinelli may move inside from his more comfortable wide position. A more likely outcome than Martinelli saving the day, however, is that Arsenal will struggle to score and maintain its Europa League ticket. Champions League certainly seems too long a putt for the sputtering Gunner attack.

Tottenham Hotspur is in the same seventh position as the club finished last season. Harry Kane has been terrible, and Son Heung-min has been hurt. If the former ignites and the latter is healed, Spurs could have a large say in who goes to which European competition next year. Tottenham Hotspur management did its best to appease unhappy manager Antonio Conte by picking up two players late in the window from Italian giant Juventus and shipping out several players that Conte had no use for. Spurs should pose a serious threat to West Ham and Arsenal, though wresting Champions League from Manchester United is unlikely.

A wild card for Europe is Wolverhampton. Wolves has enormously difficulty putting the ball in the net but manages to keep winning by conceding the second fewest goals in the league. Portuguese manager Bruno Lage is doing an outstanding job in his first year in the West Midlands.

It seems inevitable, though, that Wolves will falter in challenging for European places due to their lack of scoring bite. 

FA Cup

The FA Cup 4th Round will be played this weekend with 14 Premier League clubs in action. Three matches pair Premier League teams as Wolves host Norwich, Brentford travels to Everton and Brighton comes to London to face Tottenham Hotspur. West Ham plays Goliath as it goes on the road to face sixth tier club Kidderminster. Manchester United plays its first match since the shocking Mason Greenwood sexual assault allegations when the Red Devils begin 4th Round play Friday against Middlesbrough, currently seventh in the Championship division under former Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder.


Burnley v. Watford

Turf Moor is the site of the only Premier League match this weekend, an important relegation scrap as Burnley hosts its new relegation zone neighbor, Watford. The Hornets have dropped into the relegation zone after losing 11 of their last 14 league matches. Friday will mark Watford’s first match under new manager Roy Hodgson, who replaces Claudio Ranieri on the touchline. Burnley are bottom of the table but trail currently safe Norwich by only four points with the Clarets having played four fewer matches than the Canaries.

 

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Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Premier League Transfer Window Edition: Aubameyang Leaves Arsenal For Barcelona; Second Chances at Everton; Newcastle Girds for Survival Challenge; Spurs Revamp Midfield; Liverpool Adds to Attack; Wout About Burnley ?; Christian Eriksen Returns

The standoff between Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta and captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is over. The Gabonese striker has joined Barcelona on a free transfer. Arsenal receives no transfer fee but is excited to be done with the messy situation and to be saving more than £25 million in wages over the balance of Aubameyang’s contract. Aubameyang for his part will take a reduction in wages to ply his trade in sunny Spain. The messy end to Aubameyang’s Arsenal career is the latest in a string of Arsenal contract disasters in recent years, following on similar bitter endings to the London careers of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. Arsenal failed in their attempts to add a different striker this window, leaving just Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah to lead the line. The Gunners, who didn’t have enough players to field a team versus Spurs weeks ago, have ushered out six players while adding no reinforcements for their current top four chase.

Reeling Everton made the headlines with some familiar names. Frank Lampard was named manager at Everton just in time to preside over a busy last day of the transfer window. The former Chelsea playing legend and short tenured manager gets a chance to helm a Premier League club for a second time and immediately added two other individuals seeking a second chance. Donny van de Beek, earlier rumored to be heading for Crystal Palace, is staying in the northwest as he joins Everton on loan. The former Ajax star will try to revive a career which stagnated on the bench at Manchester United. Dele Alli will join van de Beek in the Everton midfield picture after a prolonged period of decline at Tottenham Hotspur. Ali is still only 25 years old and if he can recapture the magic of his early years at Spurs, Everton will have struck gold. A third player added on the final day to the Everton roster squad is Anwar El Ghazi, on loan from Aston Villa. The Dutch winger’s goal scoring could be a factor in Lampard’s battle to keep the Toffees safe this season.

Tottenham Hotspur not only sold Dele Alli but further validated Antonio Conte’s poor assessment of his inherited squad by shipping out three other big money players on loan. Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, and Bryan Gil will all be playing elsewhere for the balance of this season, and thereafter if Spurs can find willing buyers. The London club brought in Rodrigo Betancur and Dejan Kulusevski (on loan) from Juventus to replenish their depleted midfield.

Newcastle ownership flexed its financial muscle to help keep the Magpies from relegation. Having added striker Chris Wood and defender Kieran Trippier earlier in the window, the club added three more key players in the window’s final 48 hours. Defenders Dan Burn and Matt Targett (on loan) joined from Brighton and Aston Villa, respectively. Most intriguing was the purchase of box-to-box midfielder Bruno Guimares from Lyon. The 24-year-old Brazilian international should help to protect the Magpies’ still fragile back line while adding excitement with his forays forward. Burn and Targett further reinforce a suspect Newcastle defense for the coming relegation battle.

Fellow relegation combatant Watford have added five largely anonymous players during the window to strengthen the squad of new manager Roy Hodgson. Burnley, having lost Chris Wood earlier in the window, secured a replacement striker on the window’s final day with the acquisition of 6’ 6” Wout Weghorst from Wolfsburg. Norwich, meanwhile, made no additions as the Canaries will rely on a roster that showed a bit of life with two wins before the break.

The top of the table clubs were selective in their dealings if making any moves of note. Liverpool opportunistically swooped in to grab Porto winger Luis Diaz after Tottenham Hotspur were thought to be closing in on the Columbian international. Diaz has 14 goals this season for Porto and adds another option up front for the loaded Reds.

Manchester City also signed a south American attacker in Argentine striker Julian Alvarez. The 22-year-old Argentina international will complete the season at River Plate and represents a speculative bet by the Citizens. City sold forward Ferran Torres earlier in the window to Barcelona.

Chelsea, West Ham, and Manchester United did nothing to improve their clubs in the current window. Manchester United trimmed a bloated roster by loaning out Anthony Marital, van de Beek and Ahmad Diallo. Jesse Lingard, object of several teams’ interest, remains a Red Devil for now. Chelsea had no blatant needs this window. West Ham, though, may rue taking no action to seize a rare top four opportunity.

While not a top four or even yet a top six contender, Aston Villa showed ambition this window in backing new manager Steven Gerrard. Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne have both experienced past success in the league and the final day acquisition of Callum Chambers gives Gerrard additional roster flexibility. The Villans also added goalkeeper Robin Olsen to support starter Emi Martinez.

Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton experienced quiet windows while taking opportunity to make permanent the status of currently rostered loan players. Wolves inked South Korean forward Hwang Hee-Chan while the Eagles firmed up their association with young French striker Jean Philippe Mateta. Adama Traore left Wolves for Barcelona but had been having negligible impact for manager Bruno Lage. Palace were close to making a splash for Donny Van de Beek before being spurned by the Dutchman in favor of Everton.

Other mid table clubs Brighton, Leicester, Leeds, and Southampton made no major additions this window. Brentford, however, delivered one of the best stories of the window by signing Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen. Ericksen returns to the Premier League after suffering a cardiac event during this past summer’s European championship. The former Spurs and Juventus midfielder will try to come back from the life and career threatening event by helping the Bees stay safe in England’s top division. 


 

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