West Ham look badly short of form, but no London team gets itself up for a derby like the Hammers and vistors Spurs are still failing to convince. How does John Newsome see this often fractious fixture playing-out? Here are his predictions for all matches taking place in game-week 13. You can view all previous analysis from John’s regular column here: English Premier League Predictions For Saturday
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WEST HAM v TOTTENHAM
Early Saturday afternoon kick-off live on BT Sports.
A London Derby at the London Stadium to kick-start Game Week Thirteen of the Premier League after the International Break.
This was the 3rd-International Break since the start of the season in August but that’s it now until March 2020 so it’s the Premier League all the way with games coming thick and fast leading up to the New Year.
Both teams have hit a bit of a slump of late with West Ham only yielding 2-points from a possible 18-on offer and have lost their last 2-games, the latest being a 3-0 defeat against Burnley at Turf Moor a fortnight ago.
Manuel Pellegrini has come in for a bit of stick of late which is the norm for a modern-day manager but the punters will argue that the reported £8 Million Manuel earns a year is worthy of a better return.
It would be understandable if West Ham had a few players missing but Manuel has almost a full squad to pick from with only Lukasz Fabianski, Jack Wilshere and Michail Antonio unavailable.
Unfortunately, after the Burnley game, Manuel Lanzini can be added to that list with the Argentinian youngster suffering a dislocated shoulder in the visit to Turf Moor which will rule him out for a few months.
Tottenham themselves are encountering a crisis of confidence having not gained a victory in the Premier League in the last 4-games with 3-draws and 1-defeat.
The defeat was against Liverpool so no disgrace there.
Tottenham have recorded a 5-0 and a 4-0 victory against Crvena Zvezda or Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League in the midst of the 4-Premier League games so they are finding the net, however, not in the Premier League fixtures.
A couple of weeks back KSI and Logan Paul donned gloves and fought a professional Boxing match in Las Vegas.
Whilst having millions of YouTube followers and the fight being sold out and purchased a few times on Pay-Per-View, the fight should have been staged in Holland due to all the windmilling that went off.
Any person male or female should be afforded the utmost respect for climbing through the ring but Professional Boxer’s were in dismay about the contest, which, was ultimately a money-making project.
KSI has subsequently been called out by many.
An EveryTip column writer wants to add his name to that list.
If KSI fancies a rumble in any jungle with John Newsome, please get in touch.
At the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium last time out, Mauricio’s Lilywhites were held to a 1-1 draw against Sheffield United.
That’s the 3rd 1-1 draw out of the last 4-Premier League games.
After having his Red Card rescinded, Son Heung-Min scored Tottenham’s goal against the Blades but couldn’t hold on for the victory and in truth, could have quite easily been beaten if it wasn’t for the dreaded VAR who took 4-minutes to decide if the Sheffield United striker’s toe was off-side.
The supposed reason that VAR was brought into the game was to clear up obvious errors.
When a linesman doesn’t spot that a player’s big toe is on or offside, that is not an obvious error.
If it takes some numpty, 4-minutes, sat in a unit on an industrial estate, a few miles away, then the conception of VAR becomes irrelevant.
It really is becoming a farce but the powers that be are so stubborn, they won’t admit failure and will continue to deride.
There was silly talk by the so-called pundits that if VAR continues to be non-sensical then the top players and managers won’t come to the Premier League.
As long as there is Top Dollar on offer, the top players and top managers will always come to the Top League in the World.
VAR is a work in progress.
Remember what Edwin Starr says!
Tottenham took the spoils in this fixture last season with an Erik Lamela goal just before half-time giving Mauricio’s boys a 1-0 victory.
Betway offer West Ham at 13/5, the Draw at 3/1 and slight Odds On 10/11 for Tottenham to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 3/1 that Harry Kane Scores First and 11/4 that Tottenham Win to Nil.
Away Win 0-1
EVERTON v NORWICH
Marco Silva’s Swing-Ometer is petering on the middle mark as the Toffees are at the minute performing on a mixed basis.
One game they lose, as against Brighton 3-weeks back, 1-game they draw, as against Tottenham a fortnight ago and then they are victorious, as against Southampton last time out.
The 2-1 against the Saints could be seen as a great result for Everton, however, if being cynical, the cynics will say that it was only Southampton who aren’t the best.
Tom Davies and Richarlison got the Toffees goals and Everton appear to be a better side with Tom in than not.
All Marco can do is hope that his team that beat Southampton can perform the same against a struggling Norwich team that are worse than the Saints.
It’s now official after the previous game between Norwich and Watford that the Canaries are the worse team in the Premier League after Watford beat Norwich 2-0 at Carrow Rd before the break.
That defeat leaves Norwich rock bottom of the Premier League and a visit to Goodison Park, even against a struggling Toffees side, will be a daunting affair.
It could be a quiz question in years to come,
“Which team were absolutely rubbish in the 2019/2020 Premier League but beat Pep’s High Flying City?” It’s been over 3-years since the Canaries visited Goodison Park in the Premier League.
The last time Norwich headed to Merseyside was the final game of the 2015/2016 season which resulted in a 3-0 victory for the Toffees.
James McCarthy, Leighton Baines and Kevin Mirallas were the Everton goal scorers in May 2016.
Norwich had already had their relegation from the Premier League confirmed prior to that defeat.
Betway offer Everton at Odds On 3/8, the Draw at 17/4 and 13/2 for Norwich to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 19/4 that Tom Davies Scores Anytime and 11/8 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
Home Win 2-0
WATFORD v BURNLEY
Watford finally registered their 1st-victory of the 2019/2020 Premier League season beating Norwich 2-0 and leapfrogging the Canaries in the table.
Gerard Deulofeu got an early goal at Carrow Rd to settle the Hornets nerves with Andre Gray making it 2-0 after the break.
The negative in the game against Norwich was that Christian Kabasele was shown 2-Yellow Cards and ultimately a Red to give him a rest in this fixture against Burnley.
Quique Sanches Flores is slowly imparting his methods on the Watford team that included Troy Deeney in the 18-on show against Norwich, however, Big Troy just kept the bench warm and wasn’t needed.
Troy will probably be needed against a tougher Burnley side who finally got a victory after 3-straight defeats.
Sean Dyche’s men beat West Ham 3-0 before the International Break with the Clarets deadly duo scoring the opening 2-goals.
Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood are up there with the best of them as a strike partnership and will be a match for any team.
The Hammers goalkeeper was credited with Burnley’s 3rd after Big Ash and Big Chris had given the Clarets a 2-0 lead at half-time.
At Vicarage Rd last season this game took place in the cold of January with both teams freezing on the day and both failing to score with the game finishing in a drab 0-0 scoreline.
Betway offer Watford at 5/4, the Draw at 23/10 and 23/10 for Burnley to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 23/10 that there are Under 1.5 Goals and 9/1 for a 0-0 Scoreline.
Draw 0-0
BOURNEMOUTH v WOLVES
After beating Manchester United, Eddie Howe assumed his Cherries had turned a corner yet they were quickly back down the wrong street following a 2-1 defeat at St James Park last time out.
What would have annoyed Eddie was that Bournemouth took the lead against the Magpies when Harry Wilson scored early on in the game.
Unfortunately, Eddies Cherries conceded 2-quick goals either side of the break to make the long journey back to the South Coast an arduous one for the faithful.
This home game may again prove a difficult one even after the victory against Manchester United at the Vitality.
That victory against United wasn’t convincing and was more to do with a combination of the weather and United being in transition which is code for rubbish.
That leaves Bournemouth on the same 16-points as today’s Midlands rivals.
Wolves beat Aston Villa by the scoreline of 2-1 prior to the break with Ruben Neves and Raul Jimenez getting the goals before conceding a late Villa consolation.
Ruben rarely scores a tap in and if it’s seen that Ruben has scored for Wolves then it’s taken for granted that it will be a screamer from outside the box.
The goal against Aston Villa didn’t disappoint.
Wolves came away with a point following a 1-1 draw at the Vitality back in February.
The game will be remembered more for the tail of 2-Josh King penalties when Big Josh gave the Cherries the lead in the 1st-half from the penalty spot.
Raul Jimenez equalised for Nuno’s boys in the 83rd-minute.
Two minutes later Josh had the chance to get the winning goal after Bournemouth were awarded a 2nd penalty.
Unfortunately, Big Josh couldn’t match his earlier kick and missed leaving the game to fizzle out in a 1-1 draw.
Betway offer Bournemouth at 8/5, the Draw at 12/5 and 17/10 for Wolves to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 5/1 that Raul Jimenez Scores First and 100/30 that Wolves Win to Nil.
Away Win 0-1
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CRYSTAL PALACE v LIVERPOOL
Crystal Palace have the unenviable task of hosting the Premier League leaders following a poor run of results from Roy Hodgson’s Eagles.
Roy’s Boys last 4-fixtures have been against Man City, a loss, Arsenal a draw, Leicester, a loss and most recently Chelsea, another loss.
A tough set of fixtures given to the Eagles from the Premier League fixture compilers who one would assume, won’t be on Roy’s Christmas Card list.
So after facing Man City, Arsenal, Leicester and Chelsea, the Premier League fixture compilers send along Jurgen’s table toppers.
Cheers.
The 1-point gained from a possible 12 has resulted in Crystal Palace falling down the table to 12th.
Whilst Palace won’t get relegated, Roy just needs to be careful and not get dragged into a relegation battle.
Probably the good thing about the recent run of poor results is it does get the games against the top teams out of the way.
Liverpool continued their dominance at the top of the table beating Man City 3-1 at Anfield prior to the International Break.
Whilst it was a great victory for the Reds, the game against City wasn’t without controversy.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, or to give him his new name, Kobe Bryant, was alleged to have handled the ball in the penalty area and should have at least had a penalty awarded against him.
As with last years game against City, it’s not guaranteed that the penalty would be converted but it should definitely have been given.
Wouldn’t it be a good idea to have some sort of procedure in place where there was like a Referee sat somewhere, watching the game on TV and then if instances like the Kobe Bryant handball occurred, could just say to the On-field Referee, “have a look at that again on that monitor at the side of the pitch”
Maybe the authorities should look at something like that.
Following the handball from T Double-A that was waved away, Liverpool went straight up the other end and scored the opener from a stunner by Fabinho.
What was missed in all the excitement was that a rule was brought into this year’s Premier League that if a goal was scored that resulted from contact with an arm or hand in the build-up, the goal was immediately ruled out.
This is BT Sports interpretation of the new law.
“BTSport.com’s essential guide summarises all of the key law changes you need to know about.
Handball.
In one of the most notable amendments, any goal scored or created through accidental handball is no longer counted.” Thus, should Fabinho’s goal have been ruled out with it coming directly after the ball hit Trent Alexander-Arnold’s hand?
Whether VAR deemed it a penalty is irrelevant, no one doubted it struck Trent’s hand so the goal should not have stood.
There were rumours VAR were watching Countryfile.
Mo Salah scored a superb header just after Fabinho’s opener which, although gave Liverpool a 2-goal advantage going into the half-time interval, City could consider themselves unlucky. Sadio Mane scored the Reds 3rd early in the 2nd-half to put the game out of City’s reach.
The Bernardo of the Silva’s got a City consolation to give the Citizens a glimmer of hope but Liverpool were never going to let the lead slip and took the valuable 3-points to put them 9-points ahead of Pep’s boys.
Jurgen just may have to re-assess his rivals as it’s not Pep that is on his coattails, it’s now Brendan Rodgers and Frank Lampard who are closer to Liverpool than City are.
One slight negative for Jurgen and his Reds is Mo Salah picked up an ankle injury against Man City and missed the International games for Egypt.
Maybe the rest as done Mo good.
Unlike City, Liverpool haven’t really had any injuries to their key players.
If Big Virgil, Mo, Sadio or Roberto pick up an injury that rules them out for a few weeks then Liverpool’s title challenge could hit the buffers.
A special mention to an ex-Crystal Palace manager and a true legend of the game who has recently called time on his latest position as manager of Cardiff.
Neil Warnock is 71-years old on the 1st of December, read that again, Neil Warnock is 71-years old in a fortnight.
As well as managing Gainsborough Town, Burton Albion, Scarborough, Notts County, Torquay, Huddersfield Town, Plymouth Argyle, Oldham Athletic, Bury, Sheffield United, Queens Park Rangers, Leeds United, Rotherham and Cardiff, as well as 2-stints at Palace, the legend is fondly remembered as a player at Oakwell in the early 1970’s donning the Red kit of Barnsley FC as a flying winger down the right hand side.
The current Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy has the distinct honour of cleaning Big Neil’s boots as a youngster at Oakwell.
Under the guidance of SuperMan Neil Warnock, Cardiff got back into the Premier League.
Neil took over the Welsh club when they were 2nd bottom of the Championship and after steadying the ship in his first season he got the Bluebird’s into the promised land.
Mr Warnock should really be talked about in the same breath as legendary managers such as Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Brian Clough, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson.
His 8th promotion sets him apart from the rest and his guile and wit is a match for Pep, Jose and the rest.
1474 Games in League Management. Will there be more?
At 71 it’s probably understandable if Neil calls it a day, yet days after leaving Wales, instead of getting on his tractor, Big Neil is being talked about as a possible replacement for Craig Levein as the Hearts manager in the Scottish Premier League.
Whatever happens next, Mr Warnock should be afforded the credit he rightly deserves as a legend of the game.
Respect Neil Warnock and Happy 71st Birthday on the 1st of December.
At Selhurst Park, last term this fixture took place in mid-August and was only the 2nd-game of the 2018/2019 season.
Jurgen’s Reds got the victory beating Roy’s Eagles 2-0.
James Milner scored Liverpool’s opener on the stroke of half-time.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was shown a Red Card in the 2nd-half making Crystal Palace’s task to get back into the game even harder.
Sadio Mane scored Liverpool’s 2nd in injury time to give Liverpool a comfortable 2-0 victory.
Betway offer Crystal Palace at 13/2, the Draw at 15/4 and slight Odds On 2/5 for Liverpool to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 15/4 that Sadio Mane Scores First and 11/10 that Mo Salah Scores Anytime.
Away Win 0-2
BRIGHTON v LEICESTER
Brighton were beaten by Manchester United at Old Trafford a fortnight ago going down by the scoreline of 3-1.
Lewis Dunk did pull a goal back for the Seagulls when the score was only 2-0 giving the faithful brief hope of a comeback but United scored a 3rd to take the game away from Graham Potter’s men.
That leaves Brighton in a cluster of 4-teams with 15-points gained from the 12-games played so far which is a great return but this will be a tough ask against a very good inform Leicester side.
Brendan’s Foxes are now 2nd in the Premier League table following a great 2-0 victory against Arsenal prior to the International Break.
The 2-James got the goals against the Gunners with Sheffield Superstar Jamie Vardy getting the opener midway through the 2nd-half then getting an assist to set up James Maddison for the 2nd.
Rod Stewart is still not happy with Brendan after he left Celtic for the Premier League, however, the Foxes faithful are certainly happy with Mr Rodgers who has got their beloved team playing some scintillating football.
Glenn Murray gave the Seagulls the lead in the 1st-half in this fixture last term, which was also a Game Week Thirteen match that took place almost a year ago to the day on the 24th of November 2018.
James Maddison was shown 2-quick Yellow Cards within 2-minutes of each other midway through the 1st-half leaving Claud Puel’s Foxes playing for over an hour with 10-men.
Sheffield Superstar Jamie Vardy got his obligatory goal from the penalty spot in the 2nd-half after coming on as a substitute.
Chris Hughton’s Brighton side couldn’t take advantage of the extra man and the game finished in a 1-1 draw.
Betway offer Brighton at 13/5, the Draw at 5/2 and 21/20 for Leicester to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 5/1 that Jamie Vardy Scores Two Plus Goals and 5/2 that Leicester Win to Nil.
Away Win 0-2
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ARSENAL v SOUTHAMPTON
Arsenal were well beaten at the King Power before the break being taught a footballing lesson by the Foxes.
The 2-0 defeat left the Gunners faithful questioning Unai Emery with a lot of disgruntled fans unsure as to the direction of the once-great North London club.
This home game against a struggling Southampton team could quite easily be the ideal fixture to get the Gooners back on side, however, anything less than a victory could see more pressure heaped on Unai.
It’s rumoured Jose Mourinho is waiting in the wings to take over but that is only a rumour and is Jose the answer to Arsenal’s problems?
Arsenal are still 6th in the Premier League table and have only lost 3-times in the league so far which, considering Man City have also lost 3-times and Manchester United losing 4 of their games is way too early to start saying there is a crisis at the Emirates.
Southampton are struggling at the moment having lost 6 out of their last 7-Premier League games with just a point yielded from the other.
That’s 1-point from a possible 21 on offer which is simply not good enough and could see Ralph Hasenhuttl head to the Job Centre if the Saints lose against Arsenal.
The Saints find themselves 2nd-from bottom of the Premier League table with just 8-points, 3-points from safety.
This game could actually be the defining fixture for both sides depending on the result.
Arsenal are favourites and are expected to get the victory leaving Ralph on the brink of getting the sack.
However, if Wreck-It can somehow get a result against the Gunners then it could be Unai Emery that is heading for the Job Centre.
At the Emirates, in February the game was over as a contest after just 17-minutes with Alexandre Lacazette and Henrikh Mkhitaryan scoring early for the Gunners to give Unai’s men a 2-0 victory over the Saints.
Betway offer Arsenal at Odds On 19/40, the Draw at 15/4 and 19/4 for Southampton to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 14/5 that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Scores First and 17/10 that Arsenal Win to Nil.
Home Win 2-0
MAN CITY v CHELSEA
Late Saturday afternoon kick-off live on Sky Sports.
What a great game to end Saturday’s Premier League proceedings.
City host an inform Chelsea side looking to get back on track after the 3-1 defeat away at Anfield last time out.
The Bernardo of the Silva’s got a consolation goal against Liverpool which the defeat leaves Pep’s boys 9-points behind Liverpool and in 4th-place in the Premier League, a point behind today’s opponents.
Against Liverpool, City showed at times why they are the current Premier League title holders, however, their defence is not of title-winning standard and could be the reason Pep doesn’t win 3-titles in a row.
As well as losing Aymeric Laporte for a considerable period of time, Pep lost Ederson prior to the visit to Anfield and although Claudio Bravo is a worthy replacement, he’s not of Ederson’s standard.
John Stones seems to have reached his level and not trained on from his initial potential which many felt could see him become one of the best Centre Halves of all time up there with the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.
John is 25 now, no longer a youngster and coming into the prime of his career yet seems to have stalled at the moment.
Maybe the ex-Barnsley FC man has personal issues affecting his game but he needs to deal with whatever is happening and get back to the player that got him a £50 Million move to City.
Pep will just be hoping that Liverpool have their period of demise in the season and suffer a few injuries the same as City have.
Chelsea, or rather Frank Lampard’s Chelsea are up to 3rd in the Premier League table after a great 2-0 victory against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge, prior to the International Break.
Two players, both mentioned back in July, in an EveryTip article about the English Premier League 2019/2020 – Best Young Players got the Blues goals in the victory against the Eagles.
Tammy Abraham scored the opener after a great assist from Willian with Christian Pulisic completing the scoring to give Chelsea a great 2-0 victory.
That’s 6-straight Premier League wins for Chelsea leaving them with the same 26-points as Leicester and 8-points behind Liverpool.
This will be a good yardstick for Frank Lampard to see how his infant Premier League managerial career is developing, going head-to-head against Pep Guardiola.
At the Etihad in February, Man City got 4-goals in the opening 25-minutes to stun Maurizio Sarri’s Blues.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for Pep’s Citizens with Sergio Aguero scoring twice and Ilkay Gundogan making it 4-0 at the break.
Sergio got his hat-trick in the 2nd-half with Raheem Sterling getting his 2nd of the game and City’s 6th to give Man City a brilliant 6-0 victory over Chelsea.
Betway offer Man City at slight Odds On 2/5, the Draw at 17/4 and 6/1 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 5/1 that Raheem Sterling Scores Two Plus Goals and 8/1 that Jorginho Scores Anytime.
Home Win 3-1
SHEFFIELD UNITED v MANCHESTER UNITED
Late Sunday Afternoon Football live on Sky Sports.
One of these teams is lying 5th in the Premier League table and the other one is languishing in 7th position in the Premier League table.
The surprise in that statement is that it is Chris Wilder’s Blades that find themselves in the lofty heights of 5th in the Premier League, a point ahead of Manchester United.
It has been a bit of a joke over the past few weeks about whether the Blunts would need their passports to go to London.
The joke might just be on the EveryTip writer if Sheffield United continue in the way they have and the Blunts, James from Swinton included, finish in the European places.
Burnley finished in the Europa League qualifying places a couple of seasons back and their first encounter in Europe was against Aberdeen.
James is already booking his Eurostar train as he thinks Aber-de-en is in France.
He’s only just found his passport after the trip to London.
However, if Sheffield United continue surprising teams, then James will have the last laugh.
Bonjour mon Amie.
It’s fair to say that the dreaded VAR was the main factor preventing Sheffield United from getting a great victory against Tottenham at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium prior to the International Break.
VAR deemed David McGoldrick’s Big Toe was marginally offside denying the Blades an equaliser after Tottenham had just taken the lead a couple of minutes earlier.
VAR should be for clear and obvious errors.
If it takes someone nearly 4-minutes to decide if a toe is offside then the words “clear” and “obvious” don’t easily spring to mind.
George Baldock eventually scored an equaliser for the Blades giving them another great away day result which leaves them still unbeaten away from Bramall Lane, again the dreaded VAR took their time confirming the goal trying to find another Big Toe.
There are 20-monitors at the side of the pitch at all the Premier League grounds which would be great Christmas presents as they are unused.
In a recent Bundesliga fixture between Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, there was an incident at the end of the game that saw a scuffle between the 2-benches.
One of the Bundesliga’s most experienced referees Felix Brych took time to go over to the pitch-side monitor to check out a few discrepancies.
Why are the Premier League referees not using the monitors?
Why do the Premier League referees think they are better than the other leagues around Europe?
IFAB, the International Football Association Board, who basically make up the rules for the beautiful game insist that the referees go look at the pitch-side monitors if unsure of a decision.
The PGMOL, Professional Game Match Officials Limited, that basically run the Premier League referees think that they are above the IFAB and have indicated that they don’t want their referees to look at the monitors.
It’s as if the referees don’t want to be seen to be making a mistake.
They might be making errors but if they don’t look at the monitors then they can’t be questioned on their decision and will just leave it to the VAR in Stockley Park.
If the VAR decides on an incident, the On-field Referee won’t take ownership of the decision and if he doesn’t look at the monitor then he can’t be accused of making the wrong call.
Surely that is not what VAR is there for.
In Cricket and Rugby, the VAR works brilliantly yet, in the biggest game in the World, it’s becoming a laughing stock.
There must a reason that it’s not working in English Football.
A lot of decisions in football are subjective, so why have VAR for subjective decisions, leave VAR for line calls only, such as Goal Line Technology, whether a player is in the Penalty area or not and Mistaken Identity.
If a player fouls someone and the referee deems it a Yellow Card, why should VAR get involved?
In the recent Champions League fixture between Chelsea and Ajax, Chelsea were awarded a penalty that saw Ajax have 2-players sent off following a sequence of events decided by VAR.
Daley Blind fouled a Chelsea player, the play carried on that resulted in the ball hitting an Ajax defender in the penalty area which the referee awarded Chelsea a penalty.
On the advice of VAR, the referee then went back to Daley Blind and showed him a 2nd-Yellow and ultimately a Red Card, reducing Ajax to 10-men.
The referee then gave the Ajax defender Joel Veltman his 2nd-Yellow and again, the Red Card for the handball now reducing Ajax to 9-men and awarded Chelsea the penalty.
If the referee had stopped the game when Daley Blind initially fouled then VAR didn’t need to get involved.
It will be good to see if VAR comes into the Championship or League One and Two as well as the Scottish Premier League.
On current form, the other leagues should keep well away.
Manchester United are playing their own game of Snakes and Ladders and jumped back up the Premier League table following a 3-1 victory over Brighton at Old Trafford a fortnight ago.
Andreas Pereira, Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford with the Red Devil’s goals to take United up to 7th in the table.
Ole’s wheels have 4-defeats under their belt at the minute and don’t need many more.
It’s not sure whether United will sign anyone in January which won’t appease the faithful.
It’s said United need 2 or 3 Transfer Windows to get players in to try and challenge Man City and Liverpool.
Well, January is fast approaching and is a Transfer Window.
With Manchester United being one of the richest clubs in the World, Ole Gunnar Solskjær should be banging on the Equaliser’s door and demanding at least a signing in January, if not 2 to take United up to the Summer Transfer Window.
Another Full Back and a Midfielder wouldn’t go amiss at United.
Whether there are players of quality that fit those positions out there is another matter but money talks and United have money.
Ed Woodward needs to back Ole.
Jaydon Sancho is out there as a possibility, Harry Winks wouldn’t look out of place in a United shirt.
Neither would his Tottenham teammate Danny Rose, who is available for the right money.
One player that would cost a fortune but is not beyond the realm of possibility is a certain Harry Kane.
Maybe not in this Window but in the summer, who knows?
It’s been exactly 13-years almost to the day that Manchester United headed the 50-miles over the Snake Pass to Bramall Lane.
Back in November 2006, a Wayne Rooney double, either side of the break gave United a 2-1 victory.
Ex-Manchester United youngster Keith Gillespie had put the Blades in front in the 13th-minute to give him a little bit of personal satisfaction.
Phil Jagielka played in a Back Four for Sheffield United against a United team that included, as mentioned, Wayne Rooney, as well as, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.
Big Phil is still going strong 13-years later and will hopefully be on show today, probably as a substitute, however, what happened to Cristiano?
Betway offer Sheffield United at 5/2, the Draw at 11/5 and 6/5 for Manchester United to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 17/4 that Anthony Martial Scores First and 15/8 that there are Under 1.5 Goals.
Away Win 0-1
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ASTON VILLA v NEWCASTLE
Monday Night Football brings Game Week Thirteen to a close.
Aston Villa have lost 3 out of their last 4 games and find themselves just above the relegation places.
Whilst not a good run of games for the Villains, 2 of those losses were against Liverpool and Man City, so no disgrace there.
Last time out, prior to the International Break, Villa were beaten 2-1 by their Midlands Rivals Wolves.
Trezeguet got a late goal for Villa but time ran out resulting in another loss.
Dean Smith needn’t worry too much as Aston Villa are not getting hammered in games and are competing.
With Jack Grealish in the team and the odd appearance by Conor Hourihane, Villa just need to keep beating the teams in and around them and just stay out of the bottom three.
One of the games Dean would have definitely targeted as a possible victory would be a home fixture against Newcastle.
Newcastle do head to Villa Park in quite decent form having beaten Bournemouth 2-1 last time out.
That’s 7-points gained from a possible 9 which is a great return for Steve Bruce’s Magpies who find themselves up to 13th in the Premier League table.
Having gone a goal down against the Cherries, DeAndre Yedlin equalised just before the break.
Ciaran Clark got a scrappy winner early in the 2nd-half to give Big Brucey’s men the 3-points.
Life’s been tough for Brucey at St James Park with the fans not too happy with his appointment.
All Steve can do is keep getting the results and like all fans of football clubs, if their team is winning the fans will be happy, if not Steve is big enough to deal with the fans discontent.
In life miracles rarely appear or happen, last week a miracle occurred for Barnsley Fc.
Neil Warnock left Cardiff FC.
On the 8th of October this year, the Hierarchy at Oakwell decided to get rid of Daniel Stendel.
There choice, no one else’s but a choice still made by an owner of a football club that find themselves at the bottom of the Championship.
The Oakwell gaffers weren’t the first to get rid of their manager,
Sheffield Wednesday appointed Gary Monk but took 51 days after Steve Bruce left to head to Newcastle.
Huddersfield took 24 days to get the Cowley’s in.
Sunderland took 9 days to get Phil Parkinson at the helm.
Stoke took 7 days to appoint Michael O’Neil.
Cardiff took 3 days to appoint Neil Harris, even Watford got Quique in, the same day they got rid of Javi Gracia.
The Reds are 46 days and counting with no manager in view on the horizon.
Note to Billy Beane and friends, ring Neil up.
Doctor Pepper?
What’s the worse that can happen?
Neil says no!
There is something not right at Oakwell, the owners thought Adam Murray was the answer when clearly he’s not.
Not Adam’s fault, the Reds just don’t know what to do.
Former Schalke and Stuttgart manager Jens Keller was spotted in the stands against Bristol City,
An out-of-work manager should have been relatively easy to acquire.
Gothenburg’s Poya Asbaghi and Ostersunds’s Ian Burchnall have also been talked about.
With the Swedish season over, any of the two ought to have been attainable.
Ian Burchnall started his coaching career in Yorkshire, however, both him and Poya Asbaghi are refusing to confirm they turned the job down.
Now, Barnsley are reportedly keen to talk to Gerhard Struber after some impressive Europa League results in his first season at Wolfsberger in his native Austria., That, by the way is Wolfsberger not Wolfsburg.
One is Austrian and one is German.
The hierarchy at Barnsley FC need to sort something out pretty soon, because, Billy Beane, Paul Conway, Moneyball or even Brad Pitt don’t want to take on the Oakwell faithful, if they think American sport is fierce, they haven’t seen anything yet if they underestimate the good folk of Barnsley.
Billy Beane, you have been warned!
Prediction for you all.
Cauley Woodrow will be sold in January.
It is what Barnsley FC are now doing.
The problem being is Barnsley folk won’t put up with this strategy much longer.
The Hammers faithful moan.
The Gooners rant,
Barnsley FC fans will do neither, they will just set fire to Oakwell.
The last time the Toon Army headed to the Midlands was back in September 2016 however, that wasn’t a Premier League fixture as both teams were in the Championship.
Aston Villa were under the guidance of Roberto Di Matteo, with Rafa Benitez at the Newcastle helm.
A Tommy Elphick own-goal gave Newcastle a lead at the break with Villa leaving it late to snatch a 1-1 draw.
Aaron Tshibola getting the equaliser after coming on as a 2nd-half substitute.
Betway offer Aston Villa at 21/20, the Draw at 5/2 and 13/5 for Newcastle to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 23/10 that there are Under 1.5 Goals and 13/2 for a 1-0 Scoreline.
Home Win 1-0
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