Premier League and Carabao Cup: 10 things to look out for this weekend - MW

1) Vardy's goal is drought under scrutiny
Since he scored 14 goals in 12 matches from the end of September to December 21, in which he failed to find the net after only two matches (one of which was the match against Norwich), someone turned off the tap. Jamie Vardy's desk. During that free-scoring period, there seemed to be nothing stopping him: he might not have been on the scoresheet against Canaries, but he played brilliantly and threatened constantly, and that was His (off goal) header from James Maddison Corner that Tim Krul smacked into his own net to equalize in the 1-1 draw. But since Christmas, he hasn't scored, and in six games this year, he's only had eight shots - 50% of which went to Manchester City last weekend - and only four goals, close to this is the match against Chelsea on February 1, 235 minutes ago. Brendan Rodgers priority, must be rebound.

2) Fernandinho will have his fifth League Cup medal

When Manchester City kicked the Bernabéu, it was Fernandinho who cleaned his head with two brilliantly successful blocks. Wednesday's famous victory is another reminder of how the Brazilian integrated himself into the club's journey through the heart of the European elite. Pep Guardiola's four starting defenses - Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Nicolás Otamendi and Aymeric Laporte struggled - but later departure with muscle injuries will prevent his participation in Wembley. Brazilian veterans return from the Brazilian bench. . Later, he and Kevin De Bruyne inspired Man City to visit the most beautiful nightclub in Europe for half a century. On Sunday, Fernandinho, David Silva and Sergio Agüero, survivors of the 2013-2014 final victory against Sunderland, started the recent domination of City, in their fifth race for the League Cup medal, in line with the record d 'Ian Rush. Whatever the future of Cloud City, the question of who can replace a very important player both in defense and in midfield is not an easy answer.

3) The villa should go there with reduced pressure

For all that many Premier League clubs favor hot excitement at the end of the 14th above normal when winning the real titles, there is no reason why Aston Villa should not participate. against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. To begin with, the venerable tradition of the Villa League Cup - the first winner in 1961 and the winner of the memorable final in 1977, 1994 and 1996 - then, in fact, winning it will be no different from the load of the current match. And with the recent poor performances, a feudal performance at Wembley, under pressure from the Premier League, could act as a motivator. Sure, Villa's slowing injuries, leaking defenses and stunned success, a host of attacking talent could create another horrible national cup final, but Smith Smith's team has tasted the glory of Wembley's last year and should not be on display.

4) Will Watford choose to keep the players coming back?

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With Manchester City not participating in the tournament this weekend, this is an opportunity for Liverpool to be able to open their lead in the top position with 25 ridiculous points - more than rival Watford Nott in the season so far. . Nigel Pearson's first game, as manager of Watford, arrived in Anfield in December, an impressive performance that ended with a 2-0 defeat and anticipating Yuletide's small surge. . When they came here, it was a difficult game, meanwhile, Oliver Trent Alexander-Arnold said. Elephants With a new manager, it is very difficult to break them. Well, not that hard - five of their past competitors managed it, and one of them was Tran 4.0.3. The Hornets have a few players returning from injury, including Tom Cleverley and Ismaïla Sarr, both off the bench at Old Trafford last week, and the question is worth the risk of a recovery. Their in this game does not, that they can not win whoever they choose, or wiser to protect them for more important and possibly victorious battles.

5) The most rigorous test of Moyes' motivational skills

During their horror match, West Ham lived up to many expectations: losing every game people thought they could make and giving up on a two-goal goal to draw a game they could win. won. The team of David Moyes, who desperately needs a victory, will get them out of the relegation zone. Their superb performance in Liverpool's loss was a good sign against Southampton, but few West Ham fans will be confident that the vim rehearsal will be so difficult and so strong. Moyes recently talked about a good game, his team did poorly and on Monday night his team played a game. Manager certainly at the last chance associated with future meetings in the Premier League, Moyes will have some more rigorous tests of his motivational skills than the game. Saturday Saturday in Stratford.

6) Potter can reorganize to check the palace

Graham Potter emerged from Bramall Lane last week in a 1-1 draw, rewarding effective tactical education when Brighton started with three central defensemen and two forwards for the first time in the first weeks of the season. price. I think I've had a good coaching career so far and you don't have that by doing the same thing all the time, he said afterwards. Therefore, Crystal Palace should expect surprises on Saturday. The flank goal Neal Maupay in Sheffield is his first since December, at the Palace, and could be enough to maintain his position after a few matches on the bench. His partner in last week's attack, Glenn Murray, scored in three games against his Palace, but that was not enough to bring him to the field in their last meeting. Brighton's last three games and five of their last seven games have ended in a draw. A first tournament victory in 2020 will fuel their fight against relegation before a match test.

7) The exterior can comfort Chelsea

Only two Premier League teams have won more points at home than in their stadium of its season: Southampton and Chelsea. The loss to Bayern Munich on Tuesday was Chelsea's eighth home loss this season in all competitions, while Bournemouth won at Stamford Bridge in December. home in six games was not particularly helpful: they lost two of the first three games in this series. Since winning Chelsea, Bournemouth has won twice in 10 games and should give the Blues an opportunity to further ruin their statistics on Saturday.

8) An approach to Steve Bruce's Gayle force?

Newcastle can do without having to entertain a Burnley team with four recent wins and a draw placed them in the crosshairs of the European qualifiers. Seven points after a fall but with a victory in nine games, Newcastle sinks quickly. Steve Bruce faces more difficult questions than a group of countdown candidates, the most confusing of which is how to get the most out of Joelinton. Having only one goal in the league this season, the Brazilians clearly did not correspond to the only leadership role well done by Salomón Rondón last season. With Andy Carroll injured, either dropping him to support Dwight Gayle or pairing the duo seems to be worth it. Gayle's record with 21 Premier League goals after 109 games is particularly impressive, but he is a roaring dog with top flight, more than is possible. talk about his teammates. The couple only spent 89 minutes on the field together in the aforementioned games without focusing on their goals, but with Joelinton always seeming to waste all the time, it's hard to imagine that it was an interesting bet to attack . to play.

9) More of the Tottenham negative against wolves?

Defeated at Chelsea last weekend after adopting an astonishing negative approach, it will be fascinating to see Tottenham face the Wolves, who are only one point behind them in the search for positions in the Champions League. Considering that they were also negative during the defeat of RB Leipzig in the Champions League, the smart money would go to the obstinate hero Jose Mourinho doing the same. The absence of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min at least gives him ready-made excuses if he fails. There is no shame in losing to an interesting Wolves team, but - with or without their significant absence - the sight of the Spurs going out without a home fight after a suppressed performance last weekend will likely cause dissatisfaction, something that happened largely absent around the designated reception stands.

10) Improved Everton evokes bad memories for Solskjær

Even though Manchester United's depth has dropped several times this season, Ole Gunnar Solskjær has repeatedly returned to a specific low point during his managerial tenure. Goodison Park in April of last year - a 4-0 defeat to the team led by Marco Silva's Everton who barely felled trees was a public humiliation. Solskjær, once an image of Treble's positivity and triumph in 1999, angrily promises to unravel a team of unreliable sloths. I want my team to be the hardest working team in the league, that's what we were under Sir Alex, he said. Ten months later, only Chris Smalling, Ashley Young and Romelu Lukaku actually left the nest, with Paul Pogba on hold. The Norwegian team is set up differently from 10 months ago and United can hardly play much worse than it did then. That said, they also face an exceptional Everton team, which has continued to improve under Carlo Ancelotti and was impressed even during last week's defeat at Arsenal.

MW