Is Cole Palmer pushing for a place in the England squad for the Euro's?
I asked a few weeks ago if Cole Palmer was becoming Chelsea's main man and he's on the way to becoming that player. He kept up his fine form with another brilliant display on Saturday in Chelsea's win at Luton where he netted twice and set up Noni Madueke.
He's been involved with 12 of the goals that Chelsea have scored this season and with the form he's been in; Is he pushing for a place in the England squad for the Euro's?
Palmer was called up by England in November and later made his debut coming off the bench against Malta. He was called up by Gareth Southgate as England were missing a few players from their original squad through injury.
He could be part of the next squad in March as England begin their preparations for Euro 2024 where Southgate will be working out which players he will want in his squad for the upcoming tournament. I think he will want to involve Palmer in that squad as he's been in good form plus he's also a young player with a bright future ahead of him.
He does however play in a position where England have a number of options which could make it tough for him to force his way in. He'll be facing competition from the likes of Saka, Foden, Grealish, Bowen, Rashford, Sterling and even Gordon who is yet to receive a senior call up.
He's got a good chance of getting in ahead of Rashford who is struggling for form at Man United this season. If Palmer can keep playing the way he has been for the rest of the season, he's got a very good chance of making the final 23 man squad.
Palace will be fine if they keep Eze and Olise fit
Crystal Palace picked up a much needed win on Saturday against Brentford and the main architects behind it were Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise. Both players showed how important they are for Palace and how much they've both been missed at times this season.
Both Eze and Olise haven't been able to get themselves on the pitch at the same time this season mainly because of injuries. Olise missed the start of the season due to injury and Eze has missed games recently also because of injuries.
They're both arguably Palace's most important players because of what they offer from an attacking point of view. Goals have been a struggle for Palace this season and both players can certainly provide that like they did against Brentford and of course towards the end of last season.
With both players back fit and on the pitch together, Palace should have no relegation worries. Especially if they can keep them fit.
Are Liverpool favourites for the title?
Liverpool went into 2024 at the top of the league and they kicked off the new year with a 4-2 win over Newcastle to move three points clear. With Arsenal dropping points and City 5 points behind; Does this make Liverpool favourites for the title?
When a team is top of the league heading into the new year, they usually go on to win the title. Liverpool find themselves in that position this season and they'll want to build on it heading into the rest of the season.
One thing that gives them advantage is that they have players who have been there and done it before. The likes of Salah, Van Dijk, Alexander Arnold, Robertson etc were part of the side that won the title in 2020 and their experience of being in a title challenge will help them massively.
But they will be losing Salah to the Africa Cup of Nations this month and his absence could be a massive blow to their chances. Salah has netted the majority of Liverpool's goals this season and with him being away at AFCON, someone will need to step up in his place. Diogo Jota is more likely to be that player as he's a more than capable goal scorer. Darwin Nunez is frustrating at times and while Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz are both good players, they need to start adding more goals.
There is also the factor of Man City going on one of those incredible runs they usually go on. City may be five points behind Liverpool but if one team is going to go on an incredible winning streak, it's them. They always turn it on in the second half of the season and when they do, it leads them to winning the title. They're a team who you should never write off no matter where they are in the league.
Being top of the league does give the reds the edge in the title race, but whether they're favourites for the title remains to be seen. It will depend on how well they do over the next month as they'll be without Salah.
Comments