With apologies to fans in London, the Midlands, the South Coast, and even the North East, the North West of England is where it’s at if you want excitement, drama, and the very best Premier League football.
The dust on Liverpool’s amazing 3-2 FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City has only just settled and on Tuesday night one of the biggest rivalries in world football plays out another chapter when Manchester United head to Anfield to take on Jurgen Klopp’s Reds.
A win for Liverpool will take them top of the Premier League table, for at least one day as Manchester City prepare to play Brighton on Wednesday – a game we have previewed here at SBOTOP. Meanwhile, the Red Devils have just breathed life into their top four challenge with a 3-2 victory over Norwich City, while Tottenham and Arsenal both lost.
Liverpool’s Merseyside neighbours Everton have an entirely different problem as they are currently sitting precariously in 17th place and just three points clear of the drop zone. The Premier League 2022 betting odds reckon Frank Lampard’s side should squeeze home but they have a devilish run-in and the nerves are shredding at Goodison Park.
Manchester City are eying Haaland
Following their failure to lure Harry Kane to the Etihad in the summer of 2021, Pep Guardiola said he was happy to go with the squad he had and, while the Sky Blues undoubtedly have some of the best players in the world in their ranks, they have missed former striker Sergio Aguero.
With the Carabao Cup and FA Cup already gone, I suspect Guardiola may be ruing the lack of a goal scorer. And while he has a plethora of attacking midfielders registering double figures, he is looking for a trained hitman to bag 20 plus goals.
The club is upping its interest in Borussia Dortmund star Erling Braut Haaland and are ready to meet the release clause of 75-M Euros, which is way below the Norwegian’s valuation, though they may have to break the bank to meet the player’s wage expectations.
Real Madrid are also interested. But if Los Blancos can secure the signature of PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, that will leave the Sky Blues as the hot favourites for Haaland’s services.
Red Devils are counting on Ten Hag
Across the road at Old Trafford, the owners are looking for a change at the helm to follow the tenure of interim boss Ralf Rangnick and Ajax head coach Erik Ten Hag is said to be close to signing a deal.
The contract is yet to be signed and Ajax sanction agreed, but Manchester United are hoping the 52-year-old will be their man by the end of the season. The Dutch supremo is expected to sign a three-year deal and he will need at least that length of time to restore United to the top of the league and challenging Manchester City and Liverpool.
Ten Hag had a close relationship with Ajax director of football Marc Overmars and he will need some close allies at Manchester United if he is to succeed.
Old Trafford is not the place to plough on by yourself as Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal discovered. No one can replace Sir Alex Ferguson and the club and its new man must now evolve into something different with the scent of success that the long-suffering Red Devils fans yearn for.
Can Michael Jackson start something at Burnley?
The big Premier League 2022 news last week concerned the smallest club in the league as Burnley sacked their manager of nine and a half years Sean Dyche, the man who had led the Clarets to two promotions and six consecutive seasons in the top-flight.
But the wheels have fallen off at Turf Moor this year and, with eight games to play, the club’s owners potted their man, leaving Under-23 head coach Mike Jackson in temporary charge.
Injured skipper Ben Mee was at Jackson’s side as Burnley earned a battling point away to West Ham on Sunday. The Clarets led through a Wout Weghorst goal and had a chance to double their lead when Maxwell Cornet earned a penalty, but the Ivorian missed from 12 yards.
Tomas Soucek levelled for the Hammers and the game ended 1-1 as Burnley keeper Nick Pope made two great saves.
With two home games against Southampton and Wolves to come this week, three, four, or six points could lift the Clarets out of the bottom three and that would tee up more drama at the bottom end of the table.
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