1) Time for Guardiola to keep it simple
Pep Guardiola may be a tactical genius, but as Spinal Tap’s guitarist once said, “It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.” The Manchester City manager has proved just as much with his tendency to make things too complicated in big games. Few people know this better than Jürgen Klopp, whose Liverpool team were more than once grateful beneficiaries of Guardiola’s unnecessarily complicated one-off game plans. There is no call for such complexity on Sunday. City leave for Anfield after winning 13 games in a row in all competitions, while their opponents have won three of their last ten, lost twice at home and kept clean sheets this year. The Anfield crowd, which has fueled early blitzkrieg against City in recent years, will be absent. Guardiola’s main task can be psychological rather than tactical: to ensure that his players come on the field with the same freedom over the past two months. Or to put it simply, to avoid going with a winning formula. AH
2) Maitland-Niles has the chance to reform his career
The signing of Ainsley Maitland-Niles was a coup for West Brom, as Leicester and Southampton were one of the other clubs. The Arsenal academy graduate need no invitation to join Spurs on Sunday, and the hope is that the benefits will be twofold. Survival is a big demand for the team of Sam Allardyce, who are 10 points from safety, but the presence of an English international who was instrumental in the victory of the FA Cup in his mother club would not harm them. This is also a great opportunity for Maitland-Niles. At 23, he has the chance to become a leading man for a leading midfield team he has always preferred. Versatility is a gift in football, but in some cases it can lead to a career that passes the player; the stage was set for Maitland-Niles to shape his own future while helping West Brom search for the biggest escapes. AFTER
3) Lingard has the qualities to shine at West Ham
Jesse Lingard is a funny soccer player. Very few players can do what he does when he is at the top of his game, but he struggles to reach the standard regularly … yet he is good enough to find it on the biggest stage. One thing we do know is that Lingard is not scared, so it was no surprise to see how he responds to the pressure of his West Ham debut with a nice debut double. Although David Moyes has a reputation for being quiet, reality is more nuanced. The West Ham manager likes his team to be compact, hardworking and hard to beat, but he also respects flair, even if he is not quite sure how to generate it. Well, it’s Lingard’s division now, and since West Ham are in good shape but need a little more imagination, unpredictability and speed, the situation is ideal for him to succeed. DH
4) Pereira can drive Foxes to the finish line
Leicester may be third in the league, but their position is misleading: they are probably better than at least one of the teams above them. While none of the division’s heavyweights can convincingly claim to exceed the sum of their parts this season, Brendan Rodgers’ team does exactly that – and the parts themselves will improve as well. The turbulent right wing Ricardo Pereira, their best player during the previous two seasons, made his first league start of the campaign on Wednesday and was denied a goal only by an outside teammate. The talismanic Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy could be against the Wolves again, and Harvey Barnes wants to improve with every game and with the goal of proving it. The Foxes’ last season dropped sharply at halftime. This time there is every chance that they can get better. AH
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5) Hudson-Odoi key to rebuilding Tuchel’s Chelsea
Despite a dismal draw against Wolves, Thomas Tuchel made a fantastic start to his tournament at Chelsea. The boldness of his choice for the match proves a man with clear opinions on how he wants his team to play and who he wants to play, but the refinement period has already begun. It seems unlikely he will leave Mason Mount again, while the best of Timo Werner are better than those of Tammy Abraham or Olivier Giroud. But the most important contribution to Tuchel’s adaptation was to include Callum Hudson-Odoi, who had a team that looked insignificant going forward, a push, directness and variety. On top of that, Hakim Ziyech – the main playmaker of Chelsea – will be able to move in the middle, where he will inevitably have more possession and enjoy more influence. Sheffield United have improved in recent games, but it’s still a tough night. DH
6) Martínez shows Arsenal what they are missing
You will not be laughed out of town for suggesting that Emiliano Martínez, Aston Villa, was the best goalkeeper in the Premier League this season. Bernd Leno himself was in good shape until the defeat against Wolves on Tuesday, when he was sent outside the area for handball. It was an unprecedented rush of blood for Arsenal’s first choice, and now Mikel Arteta must call on a capable deputy. That’s exactly what Martinez proved for Arsenal at the end of last season, but Saturday will be the choice between Mat Ryan and Alex Runarsson. Ryan may not be fit in time and has barely trained since being loaned out to Brighton, while Runarsson will still start in the Premier League after enduring a disastrous night against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup. Arteta can give hope that his outside players, who flew until the game turned on Molineux, can take the heat off an unknown last defensive line. AFTER
7) Mateta must break the Selhurst attacker’s curse
What does the Crystal Palace shirt do to strikers? Only three times in the club’s 11 Premier League seasons has a Palace forward hit double figures. Kevin Phillips, Stephen Dobbie, Yaya Sanogo, Patrick Bamford, Kevin Doyle, Alexander Sørloth and Loïc Rémy all came and without a top goal in red and blue between them. Of the current crop, Christian Benteke has scored three league goals this season, Jordan Ayew one, and Michy Batshuayi has scored more goals for Belgium this season than Palace. All this may not look good to Jean-Philippe Mateta, the 23-year-old loaner from Mainz, but it also means he has to sit straight in the side. He already has ten goals to his name this season – more than any of his new teammates. Let’s be honest, he can not do worse. AH
8) Hasenhüttl must raise Saints from scratch
Losing 9-0 once is a shame; to lose twice by 9-0 is … you see the picture, but it seems difficult that Southampton and Ralph Hasenhüttl have endured such a cruel fate twice in a little over 15 months, given the usual standard of their work. The last time this happened, they had to wait patiently to get back on track and lose their next two league games before impressing a draw at Arsenal and turning the ship around from there. On this occasion they visit Newcastle and it is hardly unfair to point out that the Eksters have been perfect opponents in recent years for teams in need of an urgent pick-up. The nagging concern for Saints is that they have now lost three in a row, with injuries – and now two suspensions – biting wildly before we consider the consequences of a shelter. Trust needs to be rebuilt quickly if it is not to slip into the lower middle table; Hasenhüttl repulsed it once, but it could rise to the new heights a second time, perhaps his greatest achievement. AFTER
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9) Shaw shows signs of improvement under Solskjær
Luke Shaw emerges as a player who has reached the Premier League thanks to the purity of his talent, rather than the intensity of his focus – to the dismay of his previous managers. But Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s patient approach made him stand out as the rest of the team. In the past, the manager has struggled to balance wide attackers who want to come in with full-backs who offer little offensive threat, leaving his midfield – which is already defending an infallible defense – carrying the entire creative burden. But thanks to the improvement of Shaw and his full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, United are starting to move forward as a team with the full width of the field. They will need this dimension against an Everton team buzzing after a good win in the middle of the week. If United do not win and Manchester City beat Liverpool, their ‘title challenge’ will be almost over once it starts. DH
10) Potter lifts Seagulls by sticking to his principles
Where do Brighton’s stunning victories against Spurs and Liverpool come from? This particular writer may not be the best chance to answer after being discouraged about their neat but unproductive efforts against Fulham nine days ago. Brighton have not managed to put opponents away for most of the season, but their performance levels between the boxes have been remarkably constant. This is due in large part to the coaching of Graham Potter, whose side has been well drilled and encouraged to work smoothly in attack, and therefore it is pleasing to see his work bear fruit. Potter is courageous and refuses to deviate from the way he believes Brighton should function, and the club is holding him tight. In that sense, there might be a similarity with Sean Dyche, though you might not believe it if you looked at their respective press conferences. Burnley will give a substantial cushion above the bottom three with a win; they will enjoy the chance to see too much confidence in their opponents, but it looks no more than the tense six-pointer planned earlier. AFTER