London: Claude Puel said after his appointment as Leicester manager in October that he hoped to “seduce” Riyad Mahrez into staying at the club. That plan seemed to be working a charm until Manchester City made a pass at the Algerian this week. The question now is whether Puel and Leicester can convince Mahrez to forget about the gold and silverware he could have earned in Manchester, as well as the fun he could have had playing with Pep Guardiola’s men, and instead refocus on beating Burnley to seventh place. That’s a tough sell. Mahrez’s dismay could bring more opportunities for Demarai Gray and Fousseni Diabate but this looks to be the best time this season for Swansea to be visiting the King Power. Swansea boast new confidence thanks to victories over Liverpool and Arsenal, along with some new players — especially Andre Ayew, whose brother, Jordan, has flourished since the arrival of Carlos Carvalhal.
The standout fixture of the weekend is Liverpool v Tottenham and, as ever with contests involving two closely matched teams, midfield will be a key area. Tottenham’s pretty much picks itself so the intrigue lies with how the hosts line up. Jordan Henderson should start, so, too, Emre Can following his excellent display against Huddersfield. The third slot is hard to call, however, and appears to be between Georginio Wijnaldum and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (on the basis Adam Lallana has not recovered from a muscle tear). Wijnaldum provides Liverpool with a calm, metronomic presence in big games while Oxlade-Chamberlain, as he showed in the 4-3 victory over Manchester City, can give the team explosive drive from central areas. Control or power — that is the choice facing Jurgen Klopp and his preference could make all the difference.
January was a miserable month for Chelsea: there was but a single league win in four attempts, they could not win in two FA Cup games against a wildly inconsistent, mid-table Championship side (though a penalty shoot-out eventually edged them past Norwich and into round four), they fell to an League Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal and it all ended with that 3-0 home humbling by Bournemouth. Meanwhile, sights were set high in the transfer market and then slowly ratcheted downwards, a process that left Antonio Conte publicly aghast. January is over now and the next three games — at Vicarage Road on Monday, at home to West Brom a week later and then at home to Hull in the FA Cup — offer a chance, against limited opponents, to restore morale that must inevitably have dipped. It is one they need to take: after that run their next three games are against Barcelona, Manchester United and Manchester City.
There is a time and place for stability and Southampton right now is not it. Saints are the only club in the bottom half, apart from the promoted trio, who have not changed their manager since the start of the season and nor have they altered much else despite their chronic dreariness. Mauricio Pellegrino has persisted with pretty much the same blunt tactics and the club did little to improve his squad during the transfer window. In fairness, their only new signing, Guido Carrillo, might just give Southampton the forward fulcrum that they have lacked since the departure of Graziano Pelle in 2016.
For too long Southampton’s attack has lacked variety and sharpness. If Pellegrino figures out how to address those failings at last and can also inspire more moxie from his team, then they may begin their climb towards safety by winning at West Brom on Saturday. But Alan Pardew’s side, for whom Daniel Sturridge could make his first start, look the more likely victors. They could push Southampton to the bottom and Pellegrino towards the exit.
Theo Walcott’s move to Everton last month was completed so swiftly that he had to go to Arsenal’s training ground in the middle of the night and load all his belongings into bin bags before rushing north.
“I will at some point go back and say my proper goodbyes,” he said after completing his transfer. Now he has his chance, having made a barnstorming start to his time at Everton, where he has played two games, scored two goals and created another. “He has got something to prove,” said Sam Allardyce after Walcott’s double earned victory over Leicester in midweek and there is surely nowhere he will be more motivated to do so. However, of 10 post-war meetings between these teams in the month of February, Arsenal have won eight and drawn the other two.
Huddersfield were surprise victors over Manchester United in October, but unless they can rouse themselves from their current slump it is difficult to see them doing so again. Since their emphatic opening day win against Crystal Palace, David Wagner’s side have played 11 league matches away from home, winning one and losing eight. In those defeats they failed to score while shipping at least two goals.
Away from home, they have lost 3-0 twice, 4-0 once and 5-0. Although desperate to arrest their slide down the table and back towards the Championship, they are unlikely to do so at Old Trafford. Manchester United have lost one Premier League match at home this season, against their city rivals. Still stinging after what amounted to a Wednesday night humiliation at the hands of Spurs, they could send toothless Terriers that are increasingly all bark and no bite slinking back to West Yorkshire with their tails wedged firmly between their legs.
