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Klopp banking on Chelsea to slow City charge as Napoli tie looms
LONDON, Dec 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Jurgen Klopp will be desperately hoping
Chelsea can slow down Manchester City’s title charge this weekend as he
balances his Premier League ambitions with a Champions League decider against
Napoli.
Unbeaten Liverpool are clinging on in the title race — scoring deep into
added time against Everton last week and recovering from a goal down to beat
Burnley on Wednesday to move just two points behind City.
Elsewhere, all eyes will again be on the next instalment in the Old
Trafford soap opera, with stuttering Manchester United hosting bottom club
Fulham.
Tottenham — yet to register a single draw in the Premier League this
season — are away to Leicester. Arsenal play lowly Huddersfield.
AFP Sports picks out some of the main talking points ahead of the weekend
fixtures in the Premier League.
Chelsea seek to arrest slide
Chelsea were unbeaten in their first 12 Premier League games, determinedly
hanging on to the coat-tails of Manchester City and Liverpool
But if they lose to Pep Guardiola’s league leaders at Stamford Bridge on
Saturday they will be looking at a yawning gap of 13 points — and it would
be their third defeat in four league games.
Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso has urged his teammates to forget about the
gap, which already looks ominously big.
“If we lose we are going to be 13 points from the top and that’s a lot of
points but we have to think, prepare for the game well and not pay attention
to the table at the moment,” he said. “It’s the perfect opportunity to come
back.”
Does Mourinho know his best team?
Jose Mourinho is desperately casting around for solutions to the malaise at
Old Trafford — but is all the chopping and changing hindering, rather than
helping?
Manchester United have made a total of 46 changes to their starting XI in
the Premier League so far this season, including seven changes on Wednesday
against Arsenal — more than any other team in the competition
Former United defender Rio Ferdinand is concerned over the tinkering.
“Something needs to be done,” Ferdinand said in his role as a pundit for BT
Sport. “The common thing that we’ve seen with this team under Mourinho is
changes every week — changes, changes, changes.
“That doesn’t bode well for me in terms of the players and for the team
because you need to form relationships within a team and you can’t do that
when there’s chopping and changing, week in and week out.”
Will Klopp ring changes again?
Jurgen Klopp made seven changes for his side’s midweek match against
Burnley — starting without any of the front three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed
Salah and Roberto Firmino for the first time since September 2017.
Despite a scare at Turf Moor, Liverpool won 3-1, taking their tally to 39
points after 15 matches — more than any other Anfield side in history.
On Tuesday they face Napoli at Anfield with the prospect of crashing out of
the Champions League group stage just over six months after reaching the
final — but first they must negotiate a trip to high-flying Bournemouth.
Arsenal: a team of two halves
For a side that is unbeaten in 20 matches, Arsenal have the curious record
of not once leading at half-time in a Premier League game this season.
Wednesday was no different, as Manchester United pegged them back to reach
half-time at 1-1.
But Arsenal have scored more second-half goals than any other team — 25 —
and four points in their past two games against Spurs and United suggest Unai
Emery is adding steel to a side that had flatlined under Arsene Wenger.
Fixtures (1500 GMT unless stated)
Saturday
Bournemouth v Liverpool (1230), Arsenal v Huddersfield, Burnley v Brighton,
Cardiff v Southampton, Manchester United v Fulham, West Ham v Crystal Palace,
Chelsea v Manchester City (1730), Leicester v Tottenham (1945)
Sunday
Newcastle v Wolves (1600)
Monday
Everton v Watford (2000)
BSS/AFP/MRI/0833 hrs