1) A pressing engagement for Manchester United
Atlético Madrid sat deep hoping to hit Chelsea on the break in midweek but got little or no change out of a well-drilled side that made it difficult for the Spanish league leaders to muster much in the way of counterattacks with their ferocious intensity whenever they lost the ball. While Manchester United are unlikely to be as compliant as Atlético when they visit Stamford Bridge, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and his coaching staff will need to figure out a way of … er, countering Thomas Tuchel’s fabled counter-press or risk spending far more time than they would like playing on the back foot even when they have the ball. BG
• Chelsea v Manchester United, Sunday 4.30pm (all times GMT)
2) City need to get rotation balance right
Many months ago, few could have imagined that a home clash with West Ham would be Manchester City’s trickiest test for a couple of months. Pep Guardiola’s side have cruised to 19 victories in a row, conceding just six goals. The Hammers have lost once in the league since 21 December and Jesse Lingard’s arrival has made a top-four finish look plausible rather than a pipe dream. City will surely win the league but now they are having to travel for their Champions League ties, even if it was a stroll in Budapest this week, things will become more complicated for Guardiola as he will need to rotate his fantastic squad to keep things fresher for the more important games. He made five changes against Gladbach and no one noticed. Whether this level of rotation can be successfully maintained remains to be seen and underestimating West Ham with too much tinkering would be a perilous move for a man in search of perfection. WU
• Manchester City v West Ham, Saturday 12.30pm
3) League starts in the same team for Bale and Alli?
The usual suspects rode to Tottenham’s rescue when they underwhelmed against Burnley at Turf Moor in October. Son Heung-min nodded home his side’s first effort on target after 76 minutes as he got his head to a Harry Kane flick from a corner. Tanguy Ndombele and Lucas Moura made up the rest of Tottenham’s front four in that particularly dour encounter, but Gareth Bale and Dele Alli have both made compelling recent cases for starting berths in a team that could do with men of their talents to help unlock an often obdurate and well-organised defence. Only time will tell if either or both have done enough to sufficiently weasel their way back into José Mourinho’s good books and earn starts together in the same Premier League team for the very first time. BG
• Tottenham v Burnley, Sunday 2pm
4) No shortage of contenders to fill Maddison’s boots
It is a testament to his coaching and the flexibility of the squad he has assembled at Leicester City, that the likely absence through injury of a player as influential as James Maddison ought not trouble Brendan Rodgers unduly before Arsenal’s visit on Sunday. Though potential stand-ins Dennis Praet and Ayoze Pérez are also sidelined, Rodgers still has no shortage of options. Youri Tielemans moved forward to take up the cudgels last week, the in-form Harvey Barnes would almost certainly revel in the role, while Turkish wide man Cengiz Under is another option. . BG
• Leicester v Arsenal, Sunday 12pm
5) Jota returning at right time for Reds
Sheffield United’s only remaining realistic ambition for this season is to move off the ignominious 11-point mark to banish comparison with Derby County’s class of 2007-08. Liverpool, meanwhile, are fighting for a place in the top four and, with that in mind, were pleased to welcome Diogo Jota back to full training this week. The Portuguese is unlikely to be ready to go straight into the starting lineup at Bramall Lane but if he is fit enough to be used as a substitute…
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