It’s been a strange few days for the London club. They picked up a solid 1-1 draw with PSG in their Champions League round of 16 tie on Tuesday night but the result was completely overshadowed by the racist behaviour of some of their fans beforehand.
Nigel French / EMPICS Sport
Nigel French / EMPICS Sport / EMPICS Sport
The top-flight side are now under the glare of the spotlight, and not because they’re seven points clear at the top of the table. Already, they’ve been quick to react to what happened on a train platform at Richelieu-Drouot station but more is expected.
Naturally, everyone involved in the club will want to move on, get back to winning games and continue to chase a league title. But this is another stain on Chelsea – an organisation with an unsettling history when it comes to race issues. And as much as a victory against Burnley on Saturday will detract from more serious issues, it won’t eradicate them.
Can Tim Sherwood elicit another impressive result from Villa?
A quick glance at the form book will tell you that the Midlands side are the worst performing team in the Premier League. They haven’t won a top-flight clash since 7th December but new boss Tim Sherwood has already had an impact since replacing Paul Lambert last week.
Nick Potts / PA Wire/Press Association Images
Nick Potts / PA Wire/Press Association Images / PA Wire/Press Association Images
In the FA Cup game against Leicester, he wasn’t technically in charge yet but turned up in the Villa dressing room at half-time, delivered a team-talk and made some changes. It had the desired effect and his new charges eked out a 2-1 win and can look forward to a quarter-final derby clash against West Brom. Villa have had a disastrous season but are 90 minutes from Wembley – they’ll certainly take that.
However, they remain in the relegation zone. And their performances at Villa Park this season have left a lot to be desired – winning more games away from home than in front of their own support – a damning statistic, especially when faced with the drop.
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Stoke have been thumped in their last two games (4-1 Cup defeat to Blackburn, 4-1 league defeat to Manchester City) and Mark Hughes isn’t the type of character to accept a run of embarrassments.
Will Van Gaal finally lose patience with Falcao?
The Colombian lasted an hour against Preston and the introduction of the man who replaced him, Ashley Young, sparked United’s revival. He’s scored once in his last seven games and the teams he’s faced in that period have included Yeovil, Cambridge and QPR.
Falcao isn’t the only attacker to be struggling this season with Robin van Persie looking off the pace at various times throughout the campaign. But the Dutchman has hit double-figures in the league despite his problems – the ex-Atletico Madrid and Monaco can’t offer a similar argument. Having turned 29 last week, it seems his tenure at Old Trafford will be brief.
Martin Rickett / PA Wire/Press Association Images
Martin Rickett / PA Wire/Press Association Images / PA Wire/Press Association Images
Having started the last number of games and had minimal effect, Falcao may find that Louis van Gaal finally loses patience this weekend. A trip to Swansea should see the manager change things, especially considering how poor United’s away form has been this season. They’ve won just three times from twelve games on the road and their return of 15 goals is miserable.
United have options. James Wilson is one and Wayne Rooney another. But Van Gaal doesn’t seem to be sold on either. The youngster has rarely been handed a start while the latter seems set to continue in a midfield role, certainly until Michael Carrick returns to full fitness.
But United need a spark and can’t continue to think they’ll be able to play poorly and get results for the remainder of the campaign. They’ve been incredibly fortunate up until now. But the whole thing seems precariously balanced, liable to come crashing down at any moment.
Can Liverpool’s resurrection continue?
You have to go back to 14th December to find Liverpool’s last league defeat. They’re in the last eight of the FA Cup, still in Europa League contention and suddenly, qualification for next season’s Champions League has become a genuine possibility.
Peter Byrne / PA Wire/Press Association Images
Peter Byrne / PA Wire/Press Association Images / PA Wire/Press Association Images
There has been an impressive manner to the club’s recent performances with plenty of character on offer in the victories over Tottenham and Crystal Palace – games that could’ve slipped from their grasp earlier in the campaign.
But, how will Thursday night’s European action affect them on Sunday against Southampton? There may not be much of a hangover but you can be sure that Ronald Koeman’s side will have a game-plan and combat the space around Coutinho and Sterling, frustrating the Merseysiders.
One area of concern for Southampton though is their goalscoring. They’ve managed one in their last three games and they will get chances this weekend. As showcased against Palace, the individual, messy errors haven’t been eradicated by the Liverpool defence. Since 20th December, Graziano Pelle has scored just once and that was in the Cup defeat to Palace.
Will Chris Ramsey’s good start continue at QPR?
Everything at Queens Park Rangers recently seemed to resemble a classic sitcom. A mumbling, bumbling central character (Harry Redknapp), a family of assorted oddities and a weekly dose of various scrapes and embarrassing plot-lines. It got worse when Redknapp resigned (pending knee replacements) before Tony Fernandes took to Twitter to reveal he had found his ‘dream manager’ only for that to fall through.
So, here we are with Chris Ramsey in the dugout until the end of the season. And he hasn’t started too badly either. Last week, he oversaw a 2-0 win over Sunderland – the club’s first away victory of the campaign.
Anthony Devlin / PA Wire/Press Association Images
Anthony Devlin / PA Wire/Press Association Images / PA Wire/Press Association Images
On Saturday, they’re on their travels again and head to fellow relegation rivals Hull, desperately trying to change a worrying narrative that has cropped up repeatedly this term.
QPR have followed every win this season with a loss, something that has prevented them from building on a positive result and gaining any sort of momentum.
And it’s momentum that teams in or around the drop zone need at this stage of the season.
5 talking points ahead of the weekend's Premier League action
Chelsea are under the spotlight
It’s been a strange few days for the London club. They picked up a solid 1-1 draw with PSG in their Champions League round of 16 tie on Tuesday night but the result was completely overshadowed by the racist behaviour of some of their fans beforehand.
The top-flight side are now under the glare of the spotlight, and not because they’re seven points clear at the top of the table. Already, they’ve been quick to react to what happened on a train platform at Richelieu-Drouot station but more is expected.
Naturally, everyone involved in the club will want to move on, get back to winning games and continue to chase a league title. But this is another stain on Chelsea – an organisation with an unsettling history when it comes to race issues. And as much as a victory against Burnley on Saturday will detract from more serious issues, it won’t eradicate them.
Can Tim Sherwood elicit another impressive result from Villa?
A quick glance at the form book will tell you that the Midlands side are the worst performing team in the Premier League. They haven’t won a top-flight clash since 7th December but new boss Tim Sherwood has already had an impact since replacing Paul Lambert last week.
In the FA Cup game against Leicester, he wasn’t technically in charge yet but turned up in the Villa dressing room at half-time, delivered a team-talk and made some changes. It had the desired effect and his new charges eked out a 2-1 win and can look forward to a quarter-final derby clash against West Brom. Villa have had a disastrous season but are 90 minutes from Wembley – they’ll certainly take that.
However, they remain in the relegation zone. And their performances at Villa Park this season have left a lot to be desired – winning more games away from home than in front of their own support – a damning statistic, especially when faced with the drop.
Stoke have been thumped in their last two games (4-1 Cup defeat to Blackburn, 4-1 league defeat to Manchester City) and Mark Hughes isn’t the type of character to accept a run of embarrassments.
Will Van Gaal finally lose patience with Falcao?
The Colombian lasted an hour against Preston and the introduction of the man who replaced him, Ashley Young, sparked United’s revival. He’s scored once in his last seven games and the teams he’s faced in that period have included Yeovil, Cambridge and QPR.
Falcao isn’t the only attacker to be struggling this season with Robin van Persie looking off the pace at various times throughout the campaign. But the Dutchman has hit double-figures in the league despite his problems – the ex-Atletico Madrid and Monaco can’t offer a similar argument. Having turned 29 last week, it seems his tenure at Old Trafford will be brief.
Having started the last number of games and had minimal effect, Falcao may find that Louis van Gaal finally loses patience this weekend. A trip to Swansea should see the manager change things, especially considering how poor United’s away form has been this season. They’ve won just three times from twelve games on the road and their return of 15 goals is miserable.
United have options. James Wilson is one and Wayne Rooney another. But Van Gaal doesn’t seem to be sold on either. The youngster has rarely been handed a start while the latter seems set to continue in a midfield role, certainly until Michael Carrick returns to full fitness.
But United need a spark and can’t continue to think they’ll be able to play poorly and get results for the remainder of the campaign. They’ve been incredibly fortunate up until now. But the whole thing seems precariously balanced, liable to come crashing down at any moment.
Can Liverpool’s resurrection continue?
You have to go back to 14th December to find Liverpool’s last league defeat. They’re in the last eight of the FA Cup, still in Europa League contention and suddenly, qualification for next season’s Champions League has become a genuine possibility.
There has been an impressive manner to the club’s recent performances with plenty of character on offer in the victories over Tottenham and Crystal Palace – games that could’ve slipped from their grasp earlier in the campaign.
But, how will Thursday night’s European action affect them on Sunday against Southampton? There may not be much of a hangover but you can be sure that Ronald Koeman’s side will have a game-plan and combat the space around Coutinho and Sterling, frustrating the Merseysiders.
One area of concern for Southampton though is their goalscoring. They’ve managed one in their last three games and they will get chances this weekend. As showcased against Palace, the individual, messy errors haven’t been eradicated by the Liverpool defence. Since 20th December, Graziano Pelle has scored just once and that was in the Cup defeat to Palace.
Will Chris Ramsey’s good start continue at QPR?
Everything at Queens Park Rangers recently seemed to resemble a classic sitcom. A mumbling, bumbling central character (Harry Redknapp), a family of assorted oddities and a weekly dose of various scrapes and embarrassing plot-lines. It got worse when Redknapp resigned (pending knee replacements) before Tony Fernandes took to Twitter to reveal he had found his ‘dream manager’ only for that to fall through.
So, here we are with Chris Ramsey in the dugout until the end of the season. And he hasn’t started too badly either. Last week, he oversaw a 2-0 win over Sunderland – the club’s first away victory of the campaign.
On Saturday, they’re on their travels again and head to fellow relegation rivals Hull, desperately trying to change a worrying narrative that has cropped up repeatedly this term.
QPR have followed every win this season with a loss, something that has prevented them from building on a positive result and gaining any sort of momentum.
And it’s momentum that teams in or around the drop zone need at this stage of the season.
– First published 18.00
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