Rival Watch

Nah just with Rooney out we should be beating them

they have so many injuries. De Gea expected to return by the weekend though. No doubt he will put on the performance of his life too as keepers do against us.

I'm pretty curious as to how Leicester will do against those teams though. Obviously, Leicester rely on teams dominating possession as they sit back and hit on the counter attack. However, those teams near the bottom (Norwich, West Brom, not necessarily Palace but on current form) are not the types of teams to do that. Newcastle is near the bottom but doesn't quite play like West Brom or Palace, but Watford fits in stylistically with those teams.

Obviously, they've done pretty well with them so far, but it was the first half of the season where teams likely naively went up against Leicester thinking that they were simply hot, and that they were about at the same level and should be looking for three points. Now it's quite clear that that's not exactly the case, so I expect teams will be looking at playing Leicester more negatively, and I wonder how they'll cope with it.

I, for one, am not convinced that they will face those types of opponents and come away victorious each time.

As for Tottenham vs Arsenal in those 5 fixtures, Tottenham have an easier run definitely, but it will be made up for with a tough April (iirc).

Nah, I can see Spurs winning the league this year. It's a very real possibility.

Pochettino got this.

Having admitted that, I need to find a rock to feel sick under.

we have an advantage for the derby in that we may be able to afford to rest some key players against Swansea. Spuds have hammers away 2 games prior. not an easy game.

In before Swansea put a couple past us lol

*bleep* Swansea is such a thorn in our side I wouldn't be surprised

hmm equally difficult matches

was counting on watford winning today though.

Can't hope for Leicester to drop points unless Spurs do too

Here's hoping Spurs lose to both Liverpool and Man United so that we can go back above them.



Providing we win our own two

Stoke away is also no joke, although we have a much more difficult fixture than all of those combined in West Ham away.

Meh if we repeat our Everton performance against West Ham I think we'll be okay.

Basically you just have to be defensively organised and up for it against West Ham, and take your chances when you get them.

I know I make it sound very easy though, which it certainly isn't going to be.

Leicester needs to lose 3 times, Spurs twice and us to win all our remaining games to win the title.

So Leicester to lose to United, Everton and Chelsea, Spurs to lose to Liverpool, United and maybe Chelsea, and we win all our games.

Easy!?

Looking more and more like Liverpool will get Götze.

Sad, I didn't want to wish he would flop.

For £20m too, according to the Times.

Eh, I wouldn't get too worked up yet.

While Götze may desire a reunion with Klopp, how do you think things will work out if it comes to late July and Bayern have received a £20m offer from LFC and a £25-30m offer from Arsenal/Chelsea/PSG? Does Götze try to dig his heels in and risk a season on the bench waiting for his contract to run down just to join Klopp at an LFC side without guaranteed European football? Or does he accept a probably higher set of wages than LFC would offer, a better chance at trophies, and near-guaranteed CL football at Arsenal or the like?

If we try to play hardball over the price (which seems likely given that CAM is about the only area we actually have some decent quality and depth, though obviously not Götze's quality) and Bayern will laugh at us since it's almost a guarantee they can get their asking price for him in the current market.

Not even One Club compares

Can't think of where to put this, but an excellent read :

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/720cae92-1c32-11e6-a7bc-ee846770ec15.html#axzz49tDq7ERq

Gundogan -> City.

He's still as injury prone? If yes, then not too much to worry thus far.

Also, I do like Xhaka more

How do you lads rate the windows and squads of other clubs as of now?

(Try not to be too cynical of our own squad - I know we've done fack all after Xhaka)

City have done a great job rejuvinating their attack with Nolito, Sane and now Gabriel Jesus. Gundogan will be a top signing as well in their midfield. Still think they need a centre back and maybe a full back but they look strong.

Chelsea have added some real muscle with Kante and Batshuayi. If they get Lukaku as well they're going to have a really powerful team. Their squad is strong - that Mourinho failed with it shouldn't be cause to dismiss the quality they have.

United I'm not so sure about. Mhkitaryan is a genuinely quality addition, but Zlatan could be a bit hit or miss I feel. I think he'll show his quality in patches. Bailiy looks raw and I think he'll make some errors throughout the season. If they get Pogba then that's another quality player. Don't think their attack will be as sterile as it was under van Gaal.

Spurs haven't made a signing I'd be worried about. Wanyama gives them depth but nothing more. Janssen is a young player. Nkoudou I don't know much about. Nonetheless I expect they'll be a tough team to play against for everyone.

Likewise with Liverpool. Wijnaldum and Mane make them a more dynamic team, which is good for Klopp's football, but at the same time I wouldn't consider them signings that would propel them into the top four. They're still weak at the back. Again, though, won't be at all easy to play against.

Jealous