It’s a Big Weekend for half of the Premier League with Sir Jim Ratcliffe watching his Manchester United face Spurs, while Newcastle take on an ominous-looking Manchester City.
Game to watch – Manchester United v Tottenham
Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be in attendance at Old Trafford to see what his billion quid has bought him. With this Manchester United side, it is just as likely as not that he’ll be looking for the receipts come Sunday evening.
We know not what to expect from United. We rarely do. The Red Devils have been infuriatingly inconsistent, winning 13 but losing 14, the first of those defeats arriving at Tottenham on matchday two when United’s many issues came into sharp focus for the first time.
Tottenham, though, don’t change even if Ange Postecoglou could include two new signings in his side at Old Trafford. They will seek to befuddle their flaky hosts with the kind of pace and intensity United have struggled to match for any period longer than the odd half-hour.
The best United have managed came against Villa, who play a similarly high line to Tottenham. It took about an hour, but Erik ten Hag’s attack eventually sussed it out, even if it took some maddening choices along the way.
Ten Hag may be tempted to stick with the same shape that fought back against Villa but, impressive though he has been, Kobbie Mainoo might benefit from a partner at the base of United’s midfield. Otherwise Spurs could overrun the engine room and leave Ratcliffe pondering his own choices.
READ: Erik ten Hag is basically the Man Utd interim manager and Sunday his first real audition
Team to watch – Newcastle
Having your way with the derby rivals is certainly one way to get back on track. But Manchester City are unlikely to be quite as accommodating as Sunderland when they face the Magpies on Saturday evening.
After six defeats in seven, Newcastle swerved what could have been the most damaging of all for Eddie Howe. Had they lost their FA Cup tie on Wearside, what patience the manager retained might have largely evaporated. As it was, Sunderland struggled to lay a glove on Newcastle, for whom relief was the overriding emotion.
For the Magpies know they still need to kickstart their Premier League season. It is not inconceivable that they could kick off their next league fixture – against a Villa side achieving what the Saudis might have hoped for from Newcastle – in the bottom half of the table if City overpower them at St James’ Park.
For Howe, the return of Kevin De Bruyne couldn’t come at a worse time. And Erling Haaland could be back too. Pep Guardiola’s Treble winners, with seven wins in their last eight, are looking ominous as the second half of their season commences.
Manager to watch – Vincent Kompany
While most of the top four rest up this weekend, three of the bottom four are in action, with Everton hosting Aston Villa after Burnley kick off the Premier League weekend with a relegation six-pointer against Luton.
From afar, it is easier to see the reasons for positivity at Luton and Everton. The Hatters and Toffees have certainly had more moments and even sometimes in defeat, Luton especially, there has been plenty of encouragement to cling to.
Burnley have perhaps plodded through the season to this point, but still they are not out of the battle to swerve the drop. Though the picture may look rather more bleak if they allow Luton to open up a seven-point gap, with Friday’s visitors retaining a game in hand.
“I’m relatively optimistic because I see players that are much, much further ahead than where they were three or four months ago,” said Kompany this week, but there still appears a chasm in class to bridge.
Even Kompany’s optimism will be stretched if Burnley fail to record a league double over Luton, one of only two teams they have beaten this season, the other being a p***-poor Sheffield United side then seemingly intent on getting Paul Heckingbottom the sack.
Vincent Kompany looking dejected after game
Player to watch – Armando Broja
To describe the coming weeks as s*** or bust for Broja may be too crude, but the Chelsea striker cannot say he hasn’t been warned that his time is now.
“I need to be honest, he needs to use this type of game to score and to feel the net and to improve,” said Mauricio Pochettino after Broja scored against Preston in the FA Cup last week. “Improve not only in his fitness, but his body language also. He needs to step up and to go forward and to move. He needs to be more positive… the problem now is he needs to push himself, and we’re going to try to help him to realise that never it is enough.”
Broja’s opportunity to show he can be of use to Pochettino comes while Nicolas Jackson is away at AFCON. And Chelsea, yet again, highlighted their own goalscoring flaws against Boro on Tuesday night.
Broja was benched for the Carabao Cup semi-final with Cole Palmer profligate as a false nine. Broja was given the last half-hour as he’s eased back from a lengthy layoff and offered little. Pochettino said the Albanian hitman will start the west London derby against Fulham on Saturday lunchtime and has to show his ruthless side, for Chelsea’s prospects and his own.
READ: Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea is just a great big nothing: No identity, no influence, nothing
EFL game to watch – Ipswich v Sunderland
With half the Premier League taking it easy, the Championship milks its moment in the spotlight, with four games on the box this weekend. Hull host Norwich on Friday night; the M69 derby (it’s a thing) between Coventry and leaders Leicester kicks off on Saturday lunchtime; while QPR versus Watford is the midday warm-up act for Sunday’s top-flight action.
Sunderland’s trip to Ipswich on Saturday evening, though, is arguably the most intriguing offering from the Championship. The Tractor Boys have stalled somewhat over Christmas, going winless for five matches, drawing four and losing the other – heavily at Leeds – to leave them in danger of dropping out of the promotion spots for the first time since September.
Sunderland’s big weekend last week was ruined by Newcastle and some self-sabotage. Prior to that they were unbeaten in three after Michael Beale’s baptism of fire against Coventry. Beale still has plenty of doubters to win over on Wearside but winning at Portman Road would earn him some credit and the Black Cats have a decent record against the division’s high-fliers.
European game to watch – Bayern Munich v Hoffenheim
The Bundesliga returns after its winter break, just in time to welcome Jadon Sancho back to Borussia Dortmund. It is unlikely, though, that that the winger will play a leading role in their trip to rock-bottom Darmstadt on Saturday since he’s done appallingly little while exiled at Manchester United for the last four months.
So the focus in Germany will be on the Allianz Arena on Friday night when Bayern Munich will pay tribute to Franz Beckenbauer in their first outing since Der Kaiser’s death this week.
Around the tributes, Bayern will take on Europe-chasing Hoffenheim as they look to put the squeeze on leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who face Augsburg the following day. It could be a tricky restart for Bayern against a side proficient on the break. But the Bavarians will be gasping to honour Beckenbauer fittingly while setting the tone for potentially thrilling rückrunde.
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