With Arsenal, Aston Villa and Manchester Metropolis operating away with the highest three spots within the Premier League desk, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are left battling for the ultimate Champions League berth.
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Interim boss Michael Carrick injected contemporary power right into a downtrodden Man Utd facet, reworking them right into a formidable power at first of his tenure.
A pair of gorgeous victories over Arsenal and Man Metropolis fired the Pink Devils to fourth within the , a degree away from fifth-placed Chelsea and two away from defending champions Liverpool.
Regardless of sitting sixth, the Reds are given the identical 6/5 possibilities of securing a coveted top-four end as Man Utd, with Chelsea priced at 8/5 to prevail on this heavyweight race.
Whether or not it was only a new supervisor’s bounce or the start of a brand new period at Previous Trafford stays to be seen, however heading off Liverpool and Chelsea guarantees to be a frightening process.
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Right here, we take a more in-depth take a look at the subsequent 5 fixtures for both sides.
Liverpool
Buoyed by a 6-0 rout of Qarabag in midweek Champions League motion, Liverpool will tackle Newcastle United on the weekend, trying to finish their dreadful five-game winless league run.
Below-fire boss at Anfield and can now goal to construct on that morale-boosting victory in opposition to acquainted foes, with the Reds boasting a 19-game unbeaten top-flight streak in opposition to Newcastle.
Extending that jaw-dropping sequence with a win would set the reigning holders up completely for a mouth-watering residence conflict in opposition to title-bidding .
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Liverpool will search revenge for a dismal 3-0 defeat within the reverse fixture, maybe taking coronary heart from going unbeaten of their final 4 Premier League clashes at Anfield.
Enjoying on the street has been Liverpool’s Achilles heel this season, one thing they’ll be eager to deal with once they face Sunderland of their first assembly on the Stadium of Mild since 2017.
Tyne and Put on has been a contented searching floor for the 20-time English champions, as they’ve prevented defeat of their final 5 away league matches in opposition to the Black Cats.
Slot’s facet will tackle bottom-half strugglers Nottingham Forest (A) and (H) in a pair of must-win fixtures in the direction of the top of February.
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Chelsea
New supervisor Liam Rosenior has gained his first two Premier League video games answerable for Chelsea, seeing off fellow London rivals Brentford and Crystal Palace at first of his tenure.
Chelsea may register three consecutive multi-goal margin wins in top-flight motion for the primary time since November 2020 once they meet West Ham at residence this weekend.
4 of the Blues’ subsequent 5 league video games look winnable on paper, with the Irons one of many 4 bottom-half sides set to check Rosenior’s managerial credentials by the top of February.
Intense hypothesis relating to Chelsea’s switch plans (through ) shall be lengthy gone earlier than the Pensioners lock horns with rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.
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Evidently, something apart from three factors there can be a catastrophe for Rosenior’s males forward of their residence conflict in opposition to a Leeds United facet they misplaced to within the reverse fixture.
Chelsea will then entertain relegation-threatened Burnley at Stamford Bridge within the last rehearsal earlier than a blockbuster London derby in opposition to table-topping .
Manchester United
With momentum firmly on their facet, will resume their top-four quest this weekend, as they host shock package deal Fulham on the Theatre of Goals.
That shall be a chance for Carrick to show victories over Arsenal and Man Metropolis have been extra than simply newbie’s luck and also will serve to organize United for an unfavourable match in opposition to Tottenham Hotspur.
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Regardless of their underwhelming marketing campaign, Spurs held the Pink Devils to a dramatic 2-2 attract November, extending their unbeaten run on this match-up to eight video games.
Halting that irritating sequence could possibly be an announcement of intent from resurgent United as they give the impression of being to construct confidence forward of a tough journey to West Ham.
Carrick’s facet will cap off their comparatively gentle February schedule with an away conflict in opposition to earlier than kicking off March at residence to Palace.