(Reuters) – Talking points from the Premier League weekend:
MAN CITY HITTING STRIDE AT RIGHT TIME
With eight games left in a breakneck race to the finish, everything seems to be falling into place for Manchester City, with a palpable sense of momentum shift.
City ran roughshod over Leicester City in a 3-1 victory on Saturday, despite substituting goalscorers Erling Haaland and John Stones at halftime. They have not lost in all competitions since Feb. 5, an unbeaten streak of 14 games. They have outscored their opponents 45-8 during that stretch.
Manager Pep Guardiola labelled Manchester City’s clash with league-leading Arsenal in a little over a week as a “final” in the tense battle for the Premier League crown.
“It is a final to play more finals because if you lose this game, it will be almost over,” Guardiola said. “Hopefully we can arrive having the chance to be there.”
City are also the hunt for a first Champions League title and host Sheffield United in the FA Cup semis on Saturday.
Could this be manager Pep Guardiola’s greatest season ever?
WATKINS PUSHING FOR ENGLAND CALL-UP
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins was overlooked by Gareth Southgate for England’s World Cup squad after struggling earlier on in the season in an under-performing side.
But the sacking of Steven Gerrard and the appointment of Unai Emery has revitalised the former Brentford player to such an extent that he is now knocking loudly on Southgate’s door.
When Emery took charge on Oct. 24, Watkins had scored twice since the start of the season. Since then he has taken his tally to 15, with 11 goals in his last 12 league appearance — a ratio only Man City’s Erling Haaland can better.
If Watkins maintains his form he could even fire a resurgent Villa into the top four, or at least into Europe, and back into the England squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
EVERTON’S TOP FLIGHT STAY LOOKING EVER MORE PRECARIOUS
Everton are running out of games to pull clear of the relegation zone and Saturday’s 3-1 home loss to Fulham will be a bitter psychological blow for manager Sean Dyche’s side.
They will have targeted three points against a side that arrived at Goodison Park on a five-game losing streak and having won only once in 27 previous visits, but were outplayed by a more clinical opponent.
Everton missed the industry of suspended Abdoulaye Doucoure and the presence of Amadou Onana in midfield, and it was a game that perhaps laid bare the paucity of squad options for Dyche.
The new-manager bounce Dyche produced when replacing Frank Lampard appears to have faded and Everton’s trip to Leicester City on May 1 is looming as a huge fixture for both teams, but the old cliché of every game being a cup final will ring true until the end of the season.
TOXIC TOTTENHAM NEED SEASON TO END
For Tottenham fans the season cannot end soon enough and some might even hope that a defeat at Newcastle United next week can extinguish the forlorn hope that they are good enough to finish the season in the top four.
A 3-2 defeat at home to Bournemouth on Saturday, hours after defeat for Newcastle had revived Tottenham’s top-four hopes, summed up the malaise at the north London club.
Any hope that the dismissal of Antonio Conte, whose rigid style of play was at odds with the club’s ‘to dare is to do’ motto, would bring the joy back have proved unfounded.
Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly 10-man Everton, were incredibly lucky to beat Brighton and Hove Albion last week and suffered a stoppage time defeat by Bournemouth.
Defender Davinson Sanchez was booed by his own fans, and was substituted after coming off the bench, and the mood of apathy as fans walked out was overwhelming.
Tottenham may well win at Newcastle next week but even if they do it will be papering over the cracks of a squad that needs a manager with fresh ideas who can put the smile back on the face of the players, and the fans.
BRENTFORD’S EURO PUSH COMING UNSTUCK
Saturday’s defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers will sting even more for Brentford fans as it likely means the end of their chances of qualifying for Europe next season, with their famed resilience deserting them just when they need it the most.
The Bees had made the most of their resources all season to put them within touching distance of the top six, but two draws followed by three straight defeats has seen the dream fade.
Danish coach Thomas Frank has gained a reputation as being someone who can get the maximum return from his squad, and they have been spared the serious injuries to key players that some other squads have suffered.
That said, time is running out for him and his team to turn things around and rediscover the kind of form that had them in the running for the European places, and only a string of victories will suffice.
(Reporting by Nick Said, Martyn Herman and Lori Ewing; Editing by Toby Davis)
