Is Ilkay Gundogan Man City's unsung hero?
Ilkay Gundogan is one of City's in form players at the moment with 5 goals in his last 5 games in the Premier League with two of those goals coming in City's 5-0 win at West Brom on Tuesday which put them top of the league. He's played a key role for them over the last month and with his other teammates getting the plaudits, is he City's unsung hero? Gundogan has always been further down the pecking order at City because he's been behind top class players like Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva plus he had a nasty injury in his first season at the club which ruled him out for months. But when he's been given a chance, he usually impresses by playing through balls to the forwards, nicking the odd goal from time to time and being disciplined in midfield. He hasn't received the praise he deserves since he's been at City because other players in the squad have deserved it more. But if he can carry on playing like he is at the moment, it won't be long until he gets the recognition he deserves because he definitely deserves it with the form he's in and he always pops up with great moments in big games.
Can West Ham push for a place in Europe?
West Ham have been one of the overachievers in the Premier League season as David Moyes' side current lie in 5th place and two points outside the top four. So are they pushing for a place in Europe? I thought the Hammers would finish lower down the table at the start of the season because that's where they were for the majority of last season. David Moyes has proved me and a lot of people wrong by taking them towards the European places which no one would've thought of at the start of the season. Moyes deserves a lot of credit for taking West Ham into this position because he's built a very good squad of good players with good squad depth as well. He's signed players who most of us had never heard of in Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal who have both done very well since they've been at the club plus he's signed a couple of players from the Championship in Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma who are proving to be good Premier League players. The Hammers are a more solid team team defensively than they were before plus they're really good to watch going forward because of the players they have in forward areas. With this and a good depth to their squad, they could oush for a place in the Europa League at least.
Can Sheffield United pull off the great escape?
A month ago Sheffield United looked down and out as they were winless and had about two points to their name. But with four wins from their last five games in all competition; Could they pull off the great escape? The Blades are looking more like a team than they were in the first half of the season and they showed that in their surprise 2-1 win over Man United at Old Trafford. That result decreased the gap between them and 19th placed West Brom to three points and if they win their next game and West Brom lose theirs, the Blades will be off the bottom because they have a better goal difference than the Baggies. Chris Wilder's team are also one win away from equalling Derby's record of least points in a season in 11 and the Blades currently have 8. That record may have to wait for it to be broken because Sheffield United are feeling more confident than they were a month ago and have given themselves a fighting chance of staying up with two wins from their last four in the league since New Year. If they can keep this up between now and the end of the season hoping the teams above them drop points, they could pull off the greatest escape in Premier League history.
Can Spurs cope without Harry Kane; again?
Harry Kane went off injured with another ankle injury as Spurs lost 3-1 to Liverpool last night. They've coped without him before but because of how influential he's been for them this season; Can Spurs cope without him again? Kane has scored 12 goals in the league this season with Mohamed Salah scoring more and has more assists than any other player with 11. This shows how important he's been for Spurs this season because he's been creating and scoring goals for fun and has carried this Spurs team along with Heung Min Son for most of the season. Spurs have coped without him before because Son has been able to step in when he hasn't been available by scoring the goals and delivering as a centre forward. But because of the partnership those two have developed this season, Spurs could struggle because the pair link up very well and have scored the majority of Spurs' goals this season. Spurs may have a back up striker for Kane in Carlos Vinicius, but whether he'll have a similar relationship on the pitch with Son remains to be seen as the pair of them haven't really played together. With Kane likely to be out for a few weeks, we'll see if Spurs can or cannot cope without him during the next few games.
Are Liverpool back to their best?
Liverpool returned to winning ways last night by beating Spurs 3-1 which was their first league win of 2021. With their forwards finally firing and the team playing well itself; Are they back to their best? They looked more like themselves going forward in their FA Cup defeat to Man United on Sunday despite losing the game 3-2 and they carried that attacking performance into this game with their main men all impressing. Trent Alexander Arnold was back to his best after a dip in form by scoring the second and assisting Sadio Mane's winning goal at the end. The front three themselves looked more themselves as well with Sadio Mane assisting Roberto Firmino's goal as well as scoring one himself plus Mohamed Salah looked bright throughout despite having a goal ruled out by VAR. They may have problems defensively in terms of injuries, but going forward the reds looked more like themselves in scoring goals and the front three linking up like they always do. If they can play like this in their next few games as well as until the end of the season, we'll definitely see whether they're back to their best nor not.
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