Manchester City are finding their groove, but are they really favourites for the Premier League title? Why are Leicester so good on the road? And is perspective needed at Newcastle?
Monday 4 January 2021 08:00, UK
Such is the bizarre nature of this Premier League season, Manchester City are fifth after 15 games, yet are now the bookies' favourites to win the title. That's without particularly playing well this season, and with reduced firepower.
It's easy to be dazzled by Pep Guardiola's side when they're in the sort of mood that saw them breeze past Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. They're still the best Premier League team to watch, and even without a recognised striker Guardiola again showed his tactical dexterity.
They're within touching distance of Liverpool even though talismanic Kevin De Bruyne hasn't hit the heights of last season - but his first non-penalty goal in the Premier League this season, alongside an outstanding all-round display, may signal the start of another period of peak De Bruyne.
Those tipping Liverpool will point to their performances even in the absence of Virgil van Dijk. Those tipping City will say the same for the absence of Sergio Aguero.
But this should all come with a caution. Chelsea played into City's hands on Sunday, going for an early blitz but receiving a bombardment themselves, and even when Aguero does return, it's not guaranteed he will hit form straight away. And being so easy on the eye, which no doubt informs tips, does not necessarily mean consistency and points.
Liverpool are still the best all-round team in the Premier League, but one thing is becoming clear: there will be no title race without Manchester City, and City's next six fixtures are favourable.
They face Brighton (home, 17th in Premier League), Palace (home, 14th), Aston Villa (home, 7th), West Brom (away, 19th), Sheffield United (home, 20th) and Burnley (away, 16th) before Liverpool away on February 6.
Gerard Brand
Frank Lampard was keen to stress following Chelsea's 3-1 defeat to Manchester City that the trajectory of a team's rebuild doesn't head in just one direction. There will be peaks and there will be troughs, but this has been a fallow winter so far for his impressionable side.
Pep Guardiola's men arrived at Stamford Bridge filled with well-documented distractions, but it didn't show once they settled after 10 minutes and duly schooled the hosts. Lampard fronted up with some fighting talk after a fourth league loss in six when taken to task over members of his vanquished team being established players.
"When you say established players... Timo Werner and Kai Havertz are young," Lampard retorted. "Ben Chilwell is still young... I've spoken about some of the greatest players in this league needing time to adapt.
"I don't think it's a point of analysing each individual as they are young. Coming into a new team without a pre-season there must come a time, when you have to say it's a case of learning lessons. These City players have been playing together for some time, which is why I say this is a lesson.
"I expected difficulties and I know that becoming title contenders doesn't come easy. One month ago, people were asking me if I was signing a new contract but now, we've lost four games. The pressure is always there. I was aware of that when I took the job, but we have to keep going. We have to match the levels of City and I know it will take time."
Lampard has a point; Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic started here together for the first time but Sunday's latest setback being judged a steep learning curve won't suffice for some.
It's not the way it has been during the Roman Abramovich era, as Lampard knows only too well, but the club hierarchy must accept the process involved in reaching the standards set by City and Liverpool over the past few seasons. Lampard remains on safe ground and he will lean on the marginal positives.
Billy Gilmour and Callum Hudson-Odoi both looked bright off the bench, and the 16-game unbeaten run earlier in the campaign demonstrated Chelsea's undoubted potential. They must now show the personality and control of City to escape this period of pain.
Ben Grounds
Sun Jan 10 - Morecambe (H) - FA Cup third round
Fri Jan 15 - Fulham (A) - Live on Sky Sports
Tue Jan 19 - Leicester (A) - Live on Sky Sports
Wed Jan 27 - Wolves (H)
Sat Jan 30 - Burnley (H)
Wed Feb 3 - Tottenham (A)
You can reel off the stats regarding Leicester's superb away form this season. Their victory at Newcastle was their seventh of the season - already matching their entire tally from last term. 22 of their 32 points have now come on the road, but they had to do dig in at St James' Park.
Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the second half with wonderful finishes from James Maddison and Youri Tielemans, it cannot be said that Leicester particularly dominated proceedings. Newcastle ended the game strongly - Andy Carroll scoring with an equally as impressive strike - and the Foxes needed to concentrate to avoid letting a two-goal lead slip through their fingers.
They ultimately came through with another away victory and manager Brendan Rodgers told Sky Sports: "It becomes a war in the last 10 minutes. That really pleased me because it shows we can win different types of games, to just coming from behind but also if we need to see the game through."
The history bodes well too. Leicester are the 19th top-flight side to win at least seven of their first nine away games of a season - none of the previous 18 have finished outside of the top four, while 50 per cent of those sides have gone on to win the division that season.
Indeed, Leicester are now just a point behind joint-league leaders Liverpool and Man Utd, and in a season that looks to be going down to the wire, they will likely be in the mix. However, they must start replicating their away form at home if they want to mount a serious title challenge.
Charlotte Marsh
As Rob Hawthorne said on Sky Sports commentary, Newcastle are never more than a defeat away from a crisis. With no Premier League victory since early December and just a point taken over the festive period, the frustration on Tyneside is building.
But is there some perspective needed, particularly over Christmas? They faced the ever-dangerous Man City, league leaders Liverpool and top four-chasing Leicester, who have the best away record in the Premier League. They produced an impressive defensive performance against the Reds and similarly frustrated Leicester in the first half on Sunday.
However, the concentration slipped after their midweek exertions and sloppy play allowed Rodgers' side to do what they do best - counter-attack. As Steve Bruce told Sky Sports: "I didn't think we deserved to lose the game but we've been punished and that's one thing we have to learn - we keep getting caught on the counter-attack. That's the one thing we want to do but keep getting caught the other way."
Let's also not forget, Newcastle have seen two of their key players - Jamaal Lascelles and Allan Saint-Maximin - hit hard by Covid while injuries have also been a concern. Victories against all three in such a short time was always going to be a tall order, and they still have an eight-point cushion to the bottom three.
With a week now before facing Arsenal in the FA Cup, it gives Bruce and Newcastle time to regroup. They face winless Sheffield United next in the league, which offers the chance to pick up an important three points.
Charlotte Marsh
