Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Brentford have what Chelsea want: a striker who consistently scores goals. Ivan Toney’s desire to leave for a team higher up the table – although it’s not much of a jump at the minute – is well known. Brentford, struggling of late, defeated Mauricio Pochettino’s side earlier in the season at Stamford Bridge during Toney’s well-publicised ban. With Toney back among the ranks, they will be even more confident at home on Saturday and the striker will see the match as an opportunity to show Chelsea he could be the man to lead them from mid-table also-rans to once again challenging for European football. Chelsea were blunt against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, an indication they still require a No 9, but at least got back to winning ways in the FA Cup against Leeds. Chelsea’s defence will know about Toney’s threat and could be helpful scouts when the Blues decide who they should splash out for in the summer.

Some uncertainty over where Everton stand in the Premier League table lifted on Monday with the return of four already hard-earned points, taking Sean Dyche’s side five clear of the relegation zone. They may need a bigger cushion by the end of another troubled campaign given the appeal board’s verdict that “a six-point deduction is the minimum but sufficient sanction required to achieve the aims of the profit and sustainability rules,” and that the original commission was correct to reject all of the mitigating factors Everton presented for their financial losses up to 2022. Predictions that the club will face a lesser punishment for a second breach in 2023 are no more than that. Everton players have admitted feeling the weight of the off-pitch saga in recent months, with Dyche’s team currently on the longest current winless run in the Premier League. They need to show signs of liberation when David Moyes brings West Ham back to a club that has declined alarmingly since he left in 2013.

The Evan Ferguson hype went into overdrive when the young striker scored a hat-trick against Newcastle last August. Naturally there was talk of a big-money move to one of the Premier League’s bigger clubs. Chelsea, seemingly addicted to nabbing key figures from Brighton, could well try to make the youngster their next No 9. In recent months, though, the excitement about the Republic of Ireland international has dissipated a little. The 19-year-old has gone 16 games without scoring for Brighton and Roberto De Zerbi is waiting for the “true” Ferguson to re-emerge. The forward missed the FA Cup defeat at Wolves with an ankle issue, but he could be back for the trip to Fulham.

Will Sven Botman return to Newcastle’s defence at home to Wolves? The answer could possibly be season-defining for Eddie Howe. The Dutch centre-half ranks alongside Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimarães as one of Howe’s three most valuable players but Botman has not been right since returning from a cruciate ligament tear sustained last September. Although three months’ rest rather than surgery apparently worked for the damage to heal, despite some specialists telling him the ligament was ruptured completely, Botman has never been at his best since returning to the first team and was all over the place during last Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Arsenal. Howe subsequently said he was still “struggling” to recover from his “very nasty” knee injury and then rested him for the FA Cup win at Blackburn on Tuesday. Has Newcastle’s star defender suffered a minor setback or something more serious – and might surgery in September have been the better solution?

While Tottenham’s rivals are facing a cluttered period of fixtures, Ange Postecoglou’s team only played three times in February, with four lying ahead in March. It should give them the freshness to challenge for a spot in the top four, considering those above them have interest in Europe to fill their midweeks. Despite this relatively calm schedule, February proved underwhelming, consisting of a win, loss and draw. The one victory came with a 96th-minute winner against Brighton, and was following by a home defeat against Wolves. If Postecoglou has aspirations to be a Champions League manager next season he will need to use every advantage he can, ensuring Spurs find the level of energy that fired their impressive start. If the Australian thinks life is tough at the moment, then next season will be unbearable with European football likely. Palace arrive re-energised under Oliver Glasner and hoping to replicate what Wolves did at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Everton’s leap up the table having had four points returned by the Premier League has added an extra layer to the farce that the relegation battle could become. Luton have gone from one point to four adrift of safety thanks to the legal minds deciding what the right punishment is for falling foul of Premier League rules. It must be terribly distracting for the Hatters to wonder what will happen next with Everton (again) and Nottingham Forest charged over profitability and sustainability breaches, which could lead to more deductions. All Luton can do is focus on themselves in an attempt to finish on the right side of the line. After three consecutive defeats in the league, getting back on track with a positive performance is imperative heading into a crucial month when they will face Crystal Palace and Forest.

Burnley have 12 games remaining to prevent an immediate return to the Championship. With one win from their last 12 Premier League games and none in the last eight, the Clarets’ prospects of survival are grim. The fight shown by Vincent Kompany’s team when retrieving a two-goal deficit against Fulham at the start of February and the flashes of quality that were evident in defeat at Liverpool have been absent in the past two defeats, although in fairness, Josh Brownhill’s first-half dismissal at Crystal Palace last Saturday left them with an onerous task. James Trafford’s problems in goal have continued, however. If there is to be a recovery, the visit of a Bournemouth team also without a league win in 2024 is an opportunity that cannot be missed. “Let everyone write us off,” said Kompany. “In my life I’ve never needed too many people to believe in me or in the team. Just us believing is enough. I can’t sugarcoat anything, we’re in a spot where the probabilities are against us, but I want to make a fight out of it.”

Small wonder that London-based Arsenal fans are cursing the fixture schedulers. By the time Monday’s match at Sheffield United ends, the last direct train back to the capital will have long since departed. The only remaining viable indirect service leaves at 10.10pm – uncomfortably close to the final whistle, given the railway station is a 20-minute walk from Bramall Lane. After a change at Doncaster, fans able to catch it would arrive at King’s Cross for 1.14am. The next option leaves Sheffield at 11.30pm, involves two changes and does not reach London until 6.36am on Tuesday morning. It begs the question as to whether Monday night Premier League matches really have to kick off at 8pm. If broadcasters insist on long-distance fixtures, why not start at 7.30pm? Outside of London, the majority of fans will remain car dependent for night games but, in certain instances, moving final whistles 30 minutes earlier might offer supporters alternatives.

Paul

See author's posts