Are Man United title contenders?
Man United find themselves three points behind Liverpool with a game in hand after their 1-0 win over Wolves on Tuesday. With the club on a good run of form and nine games unbeaten, are they looking like title contenders? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men had a pretty poor start to the season with many fans calling for the managers head with 3 defeats from their opening six games. This was probably down to a lack of pre season due to their Europa League campaign from last season ending a few weeks before this season started which didn't give them a lot of time to prepare for this season. This lead to their players not looking as sharp as they would normally be in the first few games because of a lack of pre season where players would normally build up their fitness ahead of a new season. The United players now are looking sharper, fitter and confident as they've put together a run of results to put them second in the table behind champions Liverpool. If they can carry on the run they've been on and stay consistent, they could well be in contention for the title come the end of the season.
How tough a job does Allardyce have on his hands at West Brom?
I thought that West Brom built a foundation for them to build on after their draw at Liverpool last weekend by the way they played in the second half. That appears to be out the window after their 5-0 defeat to Leeds on Tuesday night. After that crushing result, how tough a job does new boss Sam Allardyce have on his hands? The job Allardyce has to do is similar to the one he had to do at Crystal Palace because Palace were conceding a lot of goals when he arrived and that continued into the first month of his reign there until he brought some new players in January and shored them up defensively which helped them stay up. West Brom were conceding a lot of goals before his appointment a few weeks ago and are still doing that a few weeks into his reign. Allardyce will without a doubt look to bring some players in during the January transfer window because of where West Brom are in the table and the quality of players they have at the moment. This was the situation when he arrived at Crystal Palace and he kept them in the Premier League by bringing in new players to help them stay up as well as make them difficult to beat which is what he needs to do this season at West Brom. The Baggies' next three or four games could determine how tough a job he has to do with Arsenal, Wolves, West Ham and Man City coming up for them.
Is Graham Potter under pressure?
Brighton are just two points above the relegation zone and are without a win in 8 games which shows that they're in a relegation battle. Because of the form they're in, is manager Graham Potter under pressure? One reason why Brighton are in this kind of form is that they're not scoring enough goals. That has been they're problem all season. They've played some good football at times but haven't had the killer instinct you need at this level because they've missed a lot of chances in games and if you don't take them you could get punished at the other end which has happened to them a lot this season. They haven't killed teams off after taking the lead and that is something you need to do at this level. Especially when you're down near the bottom of the table because goals win you games scoring more than once can give you a better chance of winning the game. If Brighton are stay up this season they need to kill teams off by scoring more goals. If not, Graham Potter could be under a lot of pressure.
Is Ben Mee one of the most underrated defenders in the Premier League?
One reason behind Burnley's good form is the return of Ben Mee. The Clarets skipper was missed at the start of the season as Burnley struggled to win games and defend as a unit. Since his return from injury Burnley look more solid at the back and are looking more like themselves as a team because of what he brings. So is Ben Mee one of the most underrated defenders in the Premier League? Mee has been a key player for Burnley ever since they've been in the Premier League but hasn't always got the recognition he deserves because his performances go unnoticed most of the time and players like Tom Heaton, Nick Pope, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane and Ashley Barnes have received more plaudits than him since Burnley were promoted back in 2016. Because of how important he has been, it's surprising to see that he hasn't been called up for England once because he makes Burnley a better team defensively and a player like that deserves a call up for England. Michael Keane and James Tarkowski received England call ups during their times at the club because of how good and influential they were to Burnley at the time. Mee has been ever present for the Clarets since they've been in the Premier League and not once has he got the recognition he deserves.
Should the Premier League have a short circuit break?
Two Premier League games were postponed during the week because of the amount of positive COVID tests that clubs who were due to play in those games had. Everton v Man City and Tottenham v Fulham were both postponed because City and Fulham both had a lot of positive tests among their staff. They were the second and third games to be postponed due to COVID this season after Aston Villa v Newcastle earlier in the season was postponed for the same reason. So does the Premier League need a short circuit break? There were 18 positive COVID tests in the recent round of testing which is the highest it's been at since football resumed back in June. This is probably down to the new variant of COVID which is making the virus spread between others quickly and that is being considered as the main reason why cases across the country are very high. West Brom boss Sam Allardyce said that we should have a short circuit break because of cases rising across the country and he doesn't want to get the virus himself. If more games get postponed due to COVID between now and the end of January, the Premier League may have a decision to make in relation to suspending the season again.
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