There is a fresher feel about the Premier League this season. Just as we were settling down for another Manchester City vs Liverpool battle it has all been shaken up over the past three months, as a new entrant has arrived, along with the return of two old rivals.
Arsenal are eight points clear at the top of the table and are in the box seat to win their first league title since Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles took the competition by storm in 2004. But there are three teams in pursuit, all within ten points of the summit and they make up the only serious contenders left. Long-time favourites Manchester City have dropped eight points from the last five games, and head coach Pep Guardiola knows that Arsenal are unlikely to drop as many any time soon.
But there are 20 games left to come and –plenty of twists and turns. Manchester United are up to fourth and nine points behind the Gunners and the Red Devils would love to revive their long-standing rivalry with the Londoners and win a first title in ten years. It’s still a long shot, though Erik Ten Hag’s team visit the Emirates next Sunday in a huge six-pointer.
Before they play Arsenal, United have a midweek date with Crystal Palace and all eyes will be on midfield ace Casemiro who is one booking away from a suspension, and the Brazilian will be a key player when Ten Hag takes his team to meet the league leaders. The latest Premier League 2023 betting odds have now gone squarely behind the Gunners but six more points for the in-form United would put them in the frame.
And then there’s Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United who have been in the Champions League places for a while and show no sign of shifting, and the Geordies are sure to strengthen again in the transfer window.
Newcastle set to rescue McTominay?
Manchester United’s dramatic win over Manchester City was the biggest of the Premier League 2023 results this weekend; it was well-earned if a little controversial as arguments are still raging over United’s 78th-minute equaliser. But the red half of Manchester couldn’t care less and are still celebrating.
But there is one Red Devil who is less than excited at the moment. Scott McTominay started six of the first seven fixtures this season but the arrival of Casemiro and the re-emergence of Fred has seen the 26-year-old Scot drift down the pecking order. He has not started in the league since United were dismantled by the Sky Blues in October and most of his appearances have been in the Carabao Cup.
The UK press has reported that McTominay would be open to a move to Newcastle where head coach Eddie Howe has done a superb job, reviving the careers of the likes of Miguel Almiron and Joelinton. It will be interesting to see if United are prepared to sell their man to a top-four rival.
Boehly spending shows no sign of slowing
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has opened up his checkbook again, signing Shakhtar Donetsk striker Mykhailo Mudryk in a deal worth up to £89m. The Blues are having a wretched league season and are currently languishing in tenth place, but that has not stopped the Boehly player revolution and Mudryk has penned an eight-and-a-half-year deal. He’s a full Ukraine international but the 22-year-old has only scored nine goals for Shakhtar and this looks like a huge leap of faith.
Boehly has taken his spending at Stamford Bridge to over £400m since his arrival in the summer, handing long deals to Marc Cucurella, Carney Chukwuemeka and Wesley Fofana and he is yet to see any return on his investment, but he appears to be content to back manager Graham Potter who takes the Blues to Liverpool next weekend… to face another underperforming club.
Moshiri backs Lampard…for now
Chelsea and Liverpool aren’t the only Premier League stalwarts who are under the spotlight. Here at SBOTOP we asked, last week, how long Everton boss Frank Lampard has to turn things around at Goodison Park and, after losing at home to relegation rivals Southampton it appears he has at least another week.
Everton are in the relegation zone, on 15 points alongside the Saints and West Ham. And club owner Farhad Moshiri has said that Lampard is the man to see the job through and he will take charge of the team in another huge game away to West Ham next week. Lampard started his playing career with the Hammers but I just can’t see a happy return for the under fire Toffees boss and, after their trip to London, Everton’s next two games are against Arsenal and Liverpool.
Lampard pulled Everton away from a similar position last season and they narrowly survived, but the club does not want to be a perennial relegation candidate and I am struggling to work out its strategy.
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