How will Liverpool cope without Van Dijk?
Liverpool's colossus centre back Virgil Van Dijk looks set for a long spell on the sidelines after picking up a knee injury in a collision with Jordan Pickford during the Merseyside Derby. The Dutchman has been a big player for the reds ever since he arrived from Southampton in 2018 for a then world record fee for a defender of £75 million. He's played a pivotal role in their success during the last two seasons as the reds win the Champions League and the Premier League plus he won the PFA and UEFA Player of the Year awards in 2019. He's made Liverpool look a better team defensively since ever since he arrived and with him out of the side, the reds could suffer a lot with Alisson also out injured. The reds don't have many centre back options with Joe Gomez and Joel Matip being their only recognised players in that position and they occasionally pick up the odd injury. Fabinho can fill in there like he did against Chelsea and can do a job. But if he gets injured, Liverpool will need to buy a centre back in January if they're to have any chance of holding onto the title.
Is David De Gea back to his best?
After a top display during Man United's 4-1 win at Newcastle on Saturday, is David De Gea back to the performance levels he showed two to three seasons ago? The Spaniard has received a fair bit of criticism since the 2018 World Cup for making quite a few mistakes which he has made for the last season or two. His performance against Newcastle was like the De Gea of old because he made one or two world class saves. The one to deny Callum Wilson especially reminded me of the old De Gea because of the way he reached out to save the ball and claw it away. Not many goalkeepers in the world can make that kind of save and that really showed why De Gea could be back to his best.
Can Aston Villa do a Leicester?
Two weeks ago I asked if he could have a Leicester kind of season following the impressive starts of Everton and Aston Villa. This week I'm asking if Aston Villa could do a Leicester? Villa's story is similar to Leicester's back in 2015-16 because both teams were given no chance of survival with one month of the season left and they both went on to stay up by going on a good run which they carried on into the following season. Villa are the only team left with a 100% record this season and if they can keep this up, they could do the unthinkable can go on to win the title considering a lot of people tipped them to go down before the season started. Just like Leicester before they did the impossible.
When will VAR be consistent with its decisions?
VAR was once again a talking point following a weekend of questionable decisions. Jordan Henderson had a goal ruled out because Sadio Mane was offside in the build up and Virgil Van Dijk was offside in the lead up to Jordan Pickford's challenge on him which wasn't reviewed. Jordan Henderson disallowed goal should've been given because Sadio Mane was in an onside position in the build up to the disallowed goal and the images show it. Virgil Van Dijk was onside in the lead up to Jordan Pickford's challenge on him because Dominic Calvert Lewin's foot was playing him on and the graphics that as well like they did with the disallowed goal. Jordan Pickford's challenge on Van Dijk should've been reviewed because he didn't get the ball and he endangered the safety of an opponent which should've prompted the people in charge of VAR to tell Michael Oliver to go to the screen to have a look at the incident.
Does Frank Lampard trust his defenders?
Chelsea have let in 63 goals since Frank Lampard took over last July and threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Southampton on Saturday. The defence has been their Achilles heal since last season hence why they've let in 63 goals since Frank took over. Alan Shearer said on Match of the Day on Saturday that Frank Lampard "must have been a nervous wreck" whenever Chelsea had to defend their goal and that is why I'm asking if he actually trusts the defenders he has. Kurt Zouma was at fault for Southampton's second goal as his poor back pass to the keeper allowed Che Adams to score the equalizer and the third goal started off by a poor clearance which went straight to Theo Walcott whose shot was deflected off of Yannick Vestergaard who made it 3-3. Lampard will be desperate for a new solid centre back in January if his defenders continue to be unconvincing.
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