6) Mané no longer the main man for Southampton
Southampton have not conceded in six games, Chelsea have kept four clean sheets in a row. Suffice to say, goals will likely be at a premium at St Mary’s. Another run, one far more troubling for Ronald Koeman’s team, is the barren spell endured by Saido Mané, who is approaching 18 hours without a goal and has not assisted in nine games. He was benched against Swansea with Koeman conceding the attacker is “a little bit struggling in his performances”. His last strike came in the 1-1 draw at Liverpool in late October, the last he created was at home to Arsenal on Boxing Day. It probably has not helped that the manager has altered their playing style, however: switching from 4-3-3 to 3-5-2. Mané would not work as a wing-back, and when given the chance in a more central attacking position he has not been as effective without sufficient space out wide to use his blistering pace.
7) Smiling Stoke fans, snarling Villa fans
Once Stoke have gone through the formality of securing their Premier League status for another season, the club will announce a price freeze on ‘early bird’ season tickets for the ninthconsecutive campaign. The upshot? Fans who paid £344 to watch Ricardo Fuller, Abdoulaye Faye and Ryan Shawcross strut their stuff at the Britannia in 2008-09 will pay the exact same amount to watch – all going well – the comparatively exotic Xherdan Shaqiri, Bojan Krkic and ... um, Ryan Shawcross next season, with their well run club on an upward curve and manager Mark Hughes having just celebrated his 1,000th day in charge. How Aston Villa’s fans must envy their counterparts in the Potteries. With their team headed for the Championship, Villa fan website My Old Man Said are stoically resigned to attending second tier football, but have called on Villa fans to emulate Howard Beale in Network by showing they’re as mad as hell and not going to take it any more. With the backing of the Football Supporters Federation, those behind MOMS have drafted a manifesto calling for change at the club and called on Villa fans to begin a complete commercial boycott at Villa Park, by refusing to give their custom to any of the ground’s many kiosks or bars. They also hope to attract the support of club sponsors when it comes to tackling ticket price reductions and “other supporter issues”. Aston Villa’s players may not be showing much fight, but off the pitch it’s nice to see their fans attempting to stick up for themselves. During a match where the outcome is unlikely to amount to much more than a hill of beans in the cosmic scheme of things, the contrasting moods of opposing sets of supporters is likely to be very stark indeed.
8) Rested and recuperated, Leicester face a different challenge
This is a very different challenge for Leicester, who should be fresh from a week of rest and recuperation while their title rivals battled on in the FA Cup and Europe. For the first time in a long time they are overwhelming favourites to win a match, bringing an entirely different pressure to the sort they have become accustomed to this season. A championship winning team should always be too strong for a struggling side at home. However we know less about their ability to break down teams prepared to scrap for a point than their wonderful knack for letting opposing teams have the ball only to annihilate them on the counter. They will need to take the game to Norwich and in some ways that is as big a test of their credentials as winning at Manchester City and Tottenham.
9) A start for the lesser-spotted Jefferson Montero?
Swansea winger Jefferson Montero has found himself out of favour following a splendid start to the season and was recently withdrawn from a training session amid fears he might injure himself, such were his attempts to impress. Against Tottenham, whose four regularly rotated full-backs are as fond of a rampage up the field as any in their line of work, a man of Montero’s speed could find space to exploit them if selected. But with Francois Guidolin favouring a midfield diamond, there has been no place for the Ecuadorian in the Swansea line-up apart from occasional cameo appearances. One possible solution is for Guidolin to revert to three at the back, the system that often served him so well during the good times at Udinese, with Modou Barrow making way from midfield to facilitate the inclusion of Montero in a wide left or roaming role. Whether or not it will happen remains to be seen, but the flying winger has plenty to offer and appears to be woefully underused by a team that’s hitting form but still looks far from safe.
10) Bournemouth’s away form looks key to their survival hopes
So much for home games being crucial to a newly-promoted team’s survival hopes. It has been Bournemouth’s results on the road that have kept them above the red line thus far. On a table of home games only, they are 19th. The equivalent for away matches sees them sit 14th. They have lost only one of their past six away from the Vitality Stadium – at Arsenal – and will be confident of taking something from Watford, whose form remains erratic and who are safe in mid-table, despite the visitors coming into the match on a run of three home defeats. It has been a season of fits and starts for Eddie Howe’s team, alternating between consecutive victories and a succession of losses. A run like the three in a row against Chelsea, Manchester United and West Brom back in December round about now would see them all but safe. Vicarage Road, where they drew 1-1 last season in the Championship, would be a good place to start.
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