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Liverpool face Man Utd test as Man City look to get back into groove
LONDON, Dec 14, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Jose Mourinho faces a quandary as he
prepares Manchester United for a trip to Premier League leaders Liverpool
while Manchester City will be keen to show that last week’s Chelsea defeat
was just a blip.
United have an impressive recent record against Liverpool, unbeaten in
eight league games, but away fans will travel with a sense of trepidation to
Anfield.
Unai Emery takes his Arsenal side, unbeaten in 21 matches in all
competitions, to face struggling Southampton while Chelsea also travel to the
south coast to take on Brighton.
Manchester City host seventh-placed Everton while Tottenham, fresh from
reaching the Champions League knockout phase, face Burnley at Wembley.
AFP Sports picks out some of the main talking points ahead of the weekend
fixtures in the Premier League.
Can Mourinho end Liverpool’s unbeaten run?
Jose Mourinho came under fire last year for failing to attack Liverpool’s
then leaky defence, settling for a 0-0 draw that cost his side momentum after
a fine start to the season.
Normally a draw at Anfield would be a good result but defeat on Sunday
could leave United 11 points off the top four if other results go against
them.
United scored four goals last week against Fulham but their attacking play
has rarely been fluid this season and they are coming up against a defence
that has conceded a single goal at home in the Premier League this season.
In a statistical quirk, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will
all be looking for a first goal or assist in a Premier League match for
Liverpool against United in more than 14 hours of football but few would bet
against Salah adding to his tally in his current rich vein of form.
Jesus firing blanks
Gabriel Jesus is in a slump — he has not found the net in the Premier
League since August despite chances to stake his claim in the absence of
Sergio Aguero through injury.
City boss Pep Guardiola has come to the defence of the misfiring forward,
saying he just needs to relax but he will be scratching his head about how to
get the best out of the Brazilian.
Jesus started his City career brightly and was seen as a serious threat to
Aguero’s position in the team.
But the signs are that Guardiola does not trust the 21-year-old to deliver
at the moment. He has started just four Premier League games this season and
Guardiola left him out of the starting 11 against Chelsea last week despite
the absence of Aguero.
Arsenal’s defensive crisis
Arsenal are without a clutch of centre-backs for their trip to second-
bottom club Southampton, seeking fresh direction under new manager Ralph
Hasenhuttl.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi are suspended after picking
up bookings in last week’s 1-0 win against Huddersfield while Konstantinos
Mavropanos and Rob Holding are injured.
Club captain Laurent Koscielny could feature even though has been missing
from the Premier League since May with a serious Achilles injury.
Manager Unai Emery said the club could look into recruiting a defender when
the transfer window opens — both Chelsea’s Gary Cahill and Eric Bailly of
Manchester United have been recently linked with a move to the Emirates.
Pochettino’s rising stock
Mauricio Pochettino enhanced his burgeoning reputation with an impressive
1-1 draw at Barcelona this week as his side reached the Champions League
knockouts.
The downside of the success is that the Spurs boss is being linked once
again to clubs higher up football’s food chain, specifically Real Madrid and
Manchester United.
“It’s no coincidence that every day you read Real Madrid want him or United
want him,” Danny Rose told the Guardian ahead of Tottenham’s match against
lowly Burnley.
“It’s exactly what he deserves. What he has done here in the last four or
five years has been amazing. He has transformed how others think of us
outside the club and he has transformed how we think of ourselves and how we
approach big games.”
Fixtures (1500 GMT unless stated)
Saturday
Manchester City v Everton (1230), Crystal Palace v Leicester, Huddersfield
v Newcastle, Tottenham v Burnley, Watford v Cardiff, Wolverhampton v
Bournemouth, Fulham v West Ham (1730)
Sunday
Brighton v Chelsea (1330), Southampton v Arsenal (1330), Liverpool v
Manchester United (1600)
BSS/AFP/MRI/0832 hrs