Friday, February 10, 2023

Premier League Preview: Matchweek 23

An intriguing Merseyside derby appears fascinating despite the troubled state of both participants. Sean Dyche leads 18th place Everton into Anfield after upsetting league leading Arsenal in his managerial debut for the Toffees last week. Can Dyche keep up the energy that permeated last week’s win? A match against Everton’s historic rival should help in that regard. A win against their hated rival would make Dyche a hero to tortured Toffee fans. Liverpool again looked moribund in a 3-0 defeat to Wolverhampton, the third time in the last four matches that the Reds have conceded three goals to an opponent. Liverpool is still seeking its first win of the new year.

Another derby match between underachieving clubs takes place at London Stadium where West Ham hosts Chelsea. The Hammers are in a relegation fight in the Premier League despite having qualified for Europe last season with the fourth lowest goal total in the league chiefly accounting for the Hammers’ problems. Chelsea has its own scoring problems, having found the net just four more times than the Hammers. The expensively put together Blues have failed to score in three of their last five matches while scoring just one goal in two others. Chelsea are ten points outside the top four. The Hammers are just a point above the drop zone.

A London derby featuring clubs further up the table will take place at the Emirates where league leading Arsenal will try to rebound from consecutive losses in the FA Cup and Premier League, respectively, when it faces a Brentford side which hasn’t lost in nine consecutive matches. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta needs to figure out how to reignite a Gunner attack which, though trailing only Manchester City in league goals for the season, has suffered back-to-back clean sheets. The Bees are led by striker Ivan Toney whose 13 league goals are third best in the league behind only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane. Brentford’s last and only win away at Arsenal in any competition came in 1938.

Manchester City, reeling from this week’s news that an expanded probe of its financial dealings is in process, will try to pull things together on the pitch when the Citizens host Aston Villa. Manchester City has lost two of its last four league matches and remains five points behind Arsenal while having played an additional league match than the Gunners. Aston Villa, meanwhile, suffered an inexplicable implosion in an error filled defeat to Leicester in its last match. The Villans should be better this week but face a tall task at the Etihad where City has lost just once this season.

Manchester United is two points behind Manchester City in the table after the Red Devils recovered from a two-goal deficit to salvage a point versus Leeds during the week. In a scheduling quirk, United and Leeds will again play this weekend with the action shifting to Elland Road. Jadon Sancho returned from a lengthy and somewhat quizzical absence to join Marcus Rashford on the scoresheet in Wednesday’s draw. Contributions from Sancho would be helpful to complement the career season being experienced by Rashford whose 11 goals are joint fourth in the Premier League. Leeds remains without a permanent manager after Jesse Marsch’s sacking on Monday with Steven Gerrard’s name now being tossed in the candidate hat by some pundits.

Newcastle will take the longest trip in the Premier League when it travels to Bournemouth this weekend. The two cities are the farthest removed geographically of any two league clubs. There is also a great distance between the clubs in the league standings. Newcastle remains in contention to qualify for the Champions League. Bournemouth hopes just to survive this season. The match represents a homecoming for Newcastle manager Eddie Howe who once was a long term fixture at the south coast club. 

Selhurst Park will be the site for the latest iteration of the “M23 Derby” between Crystal Palace and Brighton. The geographically incongruous rivalry currently appears a mismatch on paper. The sixth place Seagulls are in the hunt for European qualification. Crystal Palace has yet to win in 2023, losing four of its sixth matches. The Eagles are also without the injured Wilfried Zaha. This avian matchup, however, has hatched surprises in the past.

Tottenham Hotspur is five points ahead of Brighton in the table but has played two additional matches than the Seagulls. Spurs will be seeking a third consecutive league win when the club visits Leicester Saturday. The Foxes delivered one of their best performances of the season when they ended a five-match winless run with a 4-2 defeat of Aston Villa last weekend.

Fulham has fallen out of the European places after a three-match winless streak for the Cottagers. Visiting Craven Cottage on Saturday will be a Nottingham Forest side which is climbing the table with a five-match unbeaten run which has seen manager Steve Cooper’s club win three of their last four Premier League contests.

Wolverhampton has won two of its last three matches and will try to put more distance between Wolves and the relegation zone when traveling to bottom of the table Southampton Saturday. Saints manager Nathan Jones is under increasing pressure from supporters after losing six of his seven matches as manager and recently placing blame for the lack of success on players and fans. Wolves, meanwhile, are quite pleased with their new manager. Julen Lopetegui has won three matches and drawn twice in his seven Premier League matches to lead his club out of the relegation zone. Lopetegui’s two losses were to Manchester United and Manchester City, respectively.

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Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Premier League Results Matchweek 22: Everton Shocks Arsenal; Spurs Spoil Manchester City Chance To Close Gap; Citizens Face More Financial Allegations; Manchester United Wins Brawl at Selhurst; Newcastle Draws Again; Liverpool Sinks Further; New Players, No New Goals For Chelsea; Marsch Sacked At Leeds

Arsenal fell victim to a new manager bounce as Sean Dyche led a much better organized Everton to the largest upset of the season in defeating the league leaders 1-0. Even with his short time working with the side, the tactical discipline preached by Dyche was already evident in the Toffees’ play. Ironically, the former Burnley manager saw two of his former Burnley players, Dwight McNeil and James Tarkowski, combine for the winning goal. Arsenal was unable to mark the physical Tarkowski in the Everton box as he headed in McNeil’s 60th minute corner kick. Last place Everton thus inflicted only the second Premier League loss of the season on the top of the table Gunners.

The defeat wasn’t a complete anomaly however, as the Gunners also lost by a 1-0 margin to Manchester City in the FA Cup last week. The free-flowing Arsenal attack appears to have hit a wall of late. The victory for the Toffees lifts Everton from the bottom of the table with only goal differential separating the club from safety. The Gunners, meanwhile, suffer the embarrassment of losing to a club that had begun the day in the table’s basement. The last time that happened to Arsenal was versus a Burnley club managed by none other than Sean Dyche.

Everton moved level on points with Leeds in the battle for the final survival place in the Premier League as the Jesse Marsch led Whites failed to win for a seventh consecutive league match in a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest. Marsch paid the price on Monday as he became the seventh Premier League manager to be sacked this season. Marsch was hired to replace Marcelo Bielsa last February and succeeded in keeping the club up by the slimmest of margins last season but again had the club sinking into the relegation muck. Conversely, Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has presided over striking improvement in his club’s recent performances. Forest has won three and drawn two during a five-match unbeaten run which has seen the club escape the relegation zone and rise all the way to 13th in the Premier League table. Recently acquired goalkeeper Keylor Navas posted a clean sheet in his Premier League debut. Twenty-one year-old Brennan Johnson scored the winner against Leeds with his fifth Premier League goal of the season. Only Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli among players 21 years old or under have scored more goals this season than Johnson.

Manchester City failed to capitalize on Arsenal’s shocking loss when Tottenham Hotspur rode a Harry Kane goal to a 1-0 home win over the Citizens. Kane’s 267th goal for Spurs moved him past Jimmy Greaves as the club’s all-time goal scoring leader.

The win for Spurs moves them to within a point of fourth place Newcastle. Manchester City, meanwhile, missed a golden opportunity to gain ground on Arsenal as Pep Guardiola’s side lost for a second time in their last four league matches. More bad news followed on Monday for Manchester City as an investigation of the club for over 100 alleged financial improprieties was announced. The Citizens were able to overturn charges of financial fair play breaches in 2020. Failure to beat the current charges could not only result in penalties to the club but also the departure of manager Pep Guardiola who has previously tied his continued employment with the club to assurances received that the club was innocent of improprieties.

Manchester United are now just three points back of their crosstown rivals after a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace. A Bruno Fernandes penalty kick and Marcus Rashford’s 11th goal since returning from Qatar provided the scoring  for the Red Devils The win was costly, however, as Casemiro was given a straight red card for placing his hands around the neck of Crystal Palace midfielder Will Hughes during a 70th minute brawl between the two sides. Casemiro will miss the next three league matches as a result. The win over Crystal Palace moved Manchester United past Newcastle into third place in the table. The Red Devils host Leeds on Wednesday.

Newcastle drew for the fourth time in its last five matches as the Magpies were held to a 1-1 decision at home versus West Ham. Manager Eddie Howe’s side have somehow managed to stay in the top four despite scoring only two goals in those five matches. Meanwhile, every point is critical for a West Ham club which remains in a relegation dogfight.

Chelsea could be the next club after Manchester City to face charges of financial fair play violations after its staggering amount of spending in each of the last two transfer windows. The money spent has failed to buy goals and victories, however, as ninth place Chelsea was again held scoreless in a goalless London derby versus Fulham. Manager Graham Potter’s squad has now scored only seven goals in its last 12 matches as it’s won just twice during that stretch. The club quizzically spent none of its substantial investment dollars on a striker during the January window. The poor performances of striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, meanwhile, has now led to his exclusion from the club’s Champions League roster. Fulham is suffering a current goal drought as well as the Cottagers failed to score for a third consecutive league match.

Liverpool has also failed to score in its last three Premier League contests after a 3-0 defeat to Wolverhampton. Jurgen Klopp’s men are still hunting for their first 2023 win. Wolves, meanwhile, have won two of their last three matches to claw their way out of the relegation zone under new manager Julen Lopetegui.

Brentford extended its current unbeaten run in the league to nine matches with its 3-0 win over Southampton, the longest such run in the topflight for the Bees in 87 years. Bryan Mbeumo scored his fifth league goal of the season in the Brentford win. The unbeaten streak has put the Bees in the European places at seventh in the table as manager Thomas Frank’s squad moved past Fulham. Southampton manager Nathan Jones, meanwhile, is off to a miserable start with the Saints. A strange appointment at the time, Jones had found previous success only at Luton and has currently won just one match with the Saints since his November hiring. Jones launched into a strange tirade after the loss to Brentford where he tossed his players and even the Southampton fans under the bus while referring to himself as one of the best managers in Europe last season.

Brighton stayed one point ahead of surging Brentford in the table as the Seagulls nipped Bournemouth 1-0. Kaoru Mitoma scored in the 87th minute to claim the points and register his sixth goal in his last nine appearances for Brighton. Moises Caicedo was again kept out of the starting line-up after trying to force his way out of the club during the transfer window. The Ecuadoran midfielder appeared as a substitute and was well received by supporters. Bournemouth lost for the ninth time its last 11 matches as the Cherries are above only the sad Saints in the table.

Leicester won for the first time since November in a 4-2 victory at Aston Villa. Manager Brendan Rogers and Leicester teammates were ebullient in their praise of new loan signing Tete who shone throughout his Premier League debut and nicked one of the Foxes’ four goals. The Brazilian, on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, took over the right-wing position and allowed James Maddison to play a preferred number ten position and make the overall Fox attack far more dangerous. Longer term Leicester player Kelech Iheanacho was also instrumental in the victory, assisting Tete’s goal five minutes after tying the match with his own strike at 2-2. An error filled performance by Aston Villa was surprising as the club had accumulated more points since the World Cup break than any Premier League side but for Arsenal. Villa Manager Unai Emery will be more than happy to quickly put this one behind him.

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Friday, February 3, 2023

Premier League Returns As Transfer Window Closes

The January transfer window closed on Tuesday as Premier League teams prepare to resume league play this weekend. Chelsea was by far the freest spending of the Premier League clubs as it frantically looked for ways to improve on its currently 10th place position in the table. The London club spent more than the combined total spent in January by the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A. The check writing peaked with Tuesday’s procurement of Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez for the highest fee in Premier League history, surpassing the record signing by Manchester City of Jack Grealish. Fernandez represents a massive gamble as the 22-year-old Argentine World Cup winner was in only his second season at Benfica and provides more potential than proven production. Chelsea earlier in the window splurged on another speculative investment for Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix. Chelsea acquired eight players in total, including promising Ukrainian midfielder Mykhailo Mudryk who was reportedly stolen from the grasp of Arsenal which had been closing in on the former Shakhtar Donetsk player. The Blues face Fulham Friday in a London derby.

Everton has a new manager but no new players as Sean Dyche takes the reins at Goodison Park Saturday when Everton hosts league leading Arsenal. Everton’s failure to acquire even one player despite its desperate position in the league table is just the latest example of ownership and director malpractice at the club. Arsenal, meanwhile, moved to bolster their title hopes with the acquisition of midfielder Jorginho from Chelsea.

Manchester United, relatively quiet during much of the window, moved quickly in the closing stages to address the void created by Christian Eriksen’s injury in last week’s Carabao Cup victory. The Red Devils signed Marcel Sabitzer from Bayern Munich on Monday and will hope to have him cleared to play when they host Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Eagles frustrated their supporters and manager Patrick Vieira by spending little in January as there appears disagreement among a fractured ownership group over the appropriate level of player investment.

Brighton lost midfielder Leandro Trossard to Arsenal earlier in the window but were able to thwart efforts by the Gunners and other clubs to acquire the Eagles’ Moises Caicedo. The Ecuadoran went public with his desire to move on and only time will tell whether that will impact his attitude and performance going forward. The Seagulls are home to Bournemouth Saturday.

Liverpool is hoping to see some near-term return from the January acquisition of Cody Gakpo from PSV. Gakpo, despite his potential, is unlikely to change the script on the Reds disappointing season. Gakpo was the only incoming player for Jurgen Klopp’s squad which visits Wolverhampton on Saturday. Wolves signed six players to help new manager Julen Lopetegui avoid relegation in his first Premier League season. One of those signings, 21 year old Joao Gomes from Flamengo, has had his style of play compared with fellow Brazilian and current Manchester United player Casemiro.

West Ham tried to address its goalscoring problem by acquiring the oft injured Danny Ings from Aston Villa. Unfortunately, the striker went down with yet another injury in his first appearance for the Toffees last week. The Hammers continue what appears to be a cursed season when they travel to Newcastle Saturday. The Magpies are third in the table and this week advanced to the final of the Carabao Cup where the club will face Manchester United. The Magpies’ headline transfer addition was Anthony Gordon from Everton in a transaction many felt was overpriced for the 24-year-old who has not really lived up to billing for the Toffees.

Nottingham Forest raised eyebrows on deadline day by acquiring PSG and former Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas. The Costa Rican goalkeeper is clearly past his prime and had not started in the French league this season. A few critical saves however, could mean all the difference for a Forest club which is scrapping to survive in its first season back in the Premier League after a 23 year absence. Forest is home to Leeds on Sunday. Leeds landed United States international Weston McKinnie on loan from Juventus during the window and fought off a challenge by Leicester to retain winger Jack Harrison. Leicester ultimately had a quiet window and, along with Leeds, faces a relegation fight with or without Jack Harrison.

Leicester, Leeds and West Ham are all just a point above the relegation zone. The Foxes face Aston Villa Saturday. The Villans’ only notable dealing in the window was the sale of Ings to West Ham but Unai Emery’s 11th place club is in a far more comfortable position in the table, a full ten points ahead of Leicester.

Southampton, bottom of the Premier League table, reinforced their roster with six signings to help new manger Nathan Jones try to save the club form relegation. The Saints will try to begin their ascent Saturday at Brentford. The Bees added former Freiburg winger Kevin Schade to their senior squad but made more news with the loan signing for their “B” team of Romeo Beckham, son of Manchester United legend David Beckham.

Tottenham Hotspur completed a deadline day deal for Sporting Lisbon’s Pedro Porro. The former Manchester City property should slide right into the right back position in Spurs’ starting lineup. Spurs host Manchester City Sunday in a matchup of clubs currently fifth and second, respectively, in the Premier League table. The Citizens surprisingly loaned fullback Joao Cancelo to Bayern Munich on deadline day amid a reputed rift between the player and Manager Pep Guardiola. 

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