Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says
young England international Dele Alli is being nursed through games at
the moment, due to ankle and knee injuries.
The 19-year-old has been a key figure for Spurs this season
as they lay down a Premier League title challenge, and he played the
whole 90 minutes of the exciting 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Saturday.
However,
he had started on the bench at West Ham in midweek, and Pochettino says
the dynamic youngster is not 100 per cent at the moment.
"He is an incredible athlete, yes, but he is not a machine," said Pochettino.
"He has a problem in his ankle and knee. He was good before the game but the players are not machines."
Asked if he might have to rest Alli during the title run-in, Pochettino added: "It depends.
"We assess the players every day and we take the best decision from the team.
"We try to look after all of them. We played a lot of games and we come from a difficult season, because we've played a lot.
"I think that we have good staff, good sports science and medical, who can look after the players in a good way.
"We have a lot of players who are young and in their first or second season in the Premier League.
"It's
very tough and we spend a lot of time analysing and to find information
to give the best training sessions or recovery, or to find the best way
to help them."
Is Cristiano Ronaldo (left) better than Lionel Messi? The debate has divided many football fans for years.
A man was killed after arguing with a friend over whether Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo was the best footballer in the world.
Nigerian national Michael Chukwuma, 21, stabbed 34-year-old compatriot Obina Durumchukwu in a Mumbai suburb, Indian police said.
The incident took place following a party on Saturday night.
"They were discussing football players. One is a fan of Messi and the other was for Ronaldo," a police inspector said.
"During the conversation a quarrel has taken place. The deceased threw a glass into the face of the accused person. The glass broke and caused small injuries.
"After that the accused took the broken glass and assaulted the deceased person who died due to heavy bleeding."
Argentina international Messi, 28, is a five-time winner of the Ballon d'Or - the annual award given to the world's best player by the governing body Fifa.
Portugal captain Ronaldo, 31, has won the accolade three times.
Mata says he has been sent off just once in almost 500 games
Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata says he takes responsibility for his 26th-minute red card during Sunday's 1-0 defeat at West Brom.
The Spain international was dismissed after being awarded two yellow cards in three minutes at The Hawthorns.
He was booked first for stopping a quick free-kick and then carded again for tripping Albion's Darren Fletcher.
"I could have avoided them and I take responsibility," said Mata, who will now miss Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final.
United face West Ham at Old Trafford.
Writing on kicca.com, Mata said the red card was his first in almost 500 games as a professional.
"The truth is this is a new and strange situation for me, not easy to assimilate, but we learn from everything," he said.
"I know that, in football, we see things like these every week, but obviously what hurts more is that my team-mates had to fight with 10 men for a long time."
Mata said both decisions by referee Mike Dean were "rigorous".
He added: "In many occasions, we see more serious fouls that are not penalised in such a way, but at the same time I could have avoided them and I take responsibility.
"It also leaves me with a bad taste for the supporters who travelled to the stadium and for those who were watching the game from home.
"What matters is to move forward and to always learn from each situation. And so I will.
"I hope this blot won't make us forget that we were on the right track and that we have to keep believing in ourselves to achieve the goals that are still in our minds from now until the end of the season."
Manager Louis van Gaal was critical of both Mata and Dean after Sunday's dismissal.
He called Mata's first booking "stupid" but felt Dean should have shown more leniency when booking Mata for tripping Fletcher.
"The referee has to know the person who makes the tackle," the Dutchman said. "Mata never hurts an opponent."
It took West Brom until the 66th minute to score the winner.
Salomon Rondon found the net with a left-foot shot from substitute Sebastien Pocognoli's dangerous first-time cross from the left wing.
"I don't want to say that we deserved to win, no, but we don't deserve to lose," Van Gaal said.
"When you see at the end the chances that West Bromwich Albion has created in comparison with us, it was an unnecessary loss."
Van Gaal hopes the loss does not impact negatively on United before Thursday's Europa League trip to Liverpool and Sunday's FA Cup tie against West Ham.
"I think always this match has an influence on the next match so it is, for us, very bad," he said.
With three Premier League games played in a
week over the Christmas period, it can be a pivotal time of the season
for many clubs.
With Leicester and Watford proving to be just two of the
surprise packages in the Premier League so far this season, and with
Chelsea and Manchester United under-performing, it's been an
unpredictable first half of the season.
With the games coming
thick and fast over the next few weeks, who has the trickiest Christmas?
We've taken the average current league position of each team's three
opponents to work it all out…
Chelsea
December 26, Watford (h): 7th
December 28, Man Utd (a): 5th
January 3, Crystal Palace (a): 6th Average opponent position: 6
Guus
Hiddink will take charge of Chelsea for the first time since 2009 when
they face Watford at home on Boxing Day. The Dutchman's first priority
will be to get fans back onside after the Jose Mourinho fallout was more
than evident in Chelsea's 3-1 win against Sunderland on Saturday. Supporters will want maximum points from the next three matches to start climbing away from the relegation zone.
Leicester
December 26, Liverpool (a): 9th
December 29, Man City (h): 3rd
January 2, Bournemouth (h): 14th Average opponent position: 8.7
Leicester
are flying at the moment as they sit top of Premier League, but will
the run last? Their fine form will be put to the test on the road at
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, followed by home ties against Manchester City
and Bournemouth. Liverpool are winless in their last four matches so a
response will be expected from Klopp. The Foxes then take on two
possession-oriented sides in Man City and Bournemouth so they may look
to keep their explosive counter-attacking approach going.
Manchester City
December 26, Sunderland (h): 19th
December 29, Leicester (a): 1st
January 2, Watford (a): 7th Average opponent position: 9
City
face two of the league's biggest surprise packages in their next three
fixtures as they travel to leaders Leicester and then go to Watford, who
are just one point off the Champions League places. They will be hoping
to bounce back from their defeat to Arsenal with a home win over
struggling Sunderland on Boxing Day.
Liverpool
Philippe Coutinho and Liverpool must travel to Sunderland and West Ham
December 26, Leicester (h): 1st
December 30, Sunderland (a): 19th
January 2, West Ham (a): 8th Average opponent position:9.3
Jurgen
Klopp described Liverpool's 3-0 loss to Watford as "the most
disappointing moment of my Liverpool life". He will be looking for a
response against league leaders Leicester, struggling Sunderland and
West Ham, who are making a bid for Europe. Liverpool have not won in
their last four matches, and Klopp will want to ensure the "revolution"
gets back on track quickly.
Tottenham
Harry Kane and Tottenham travel to Watford and Everton
December 26, Norwich (h): 16th
December 28, Watford (a): 7th
January 3, Everton (a): 10th Average opponent position:11
Tottenham
currently sit in fourth place but Manchester United and Crystal Palace
are breathing down their necks with just goal difference separating the
three clubs. Spurs' second game of the Christmas period is against
Watford, who are just one point behind. It will make for interesting
viewing to see if Tottenham's young side can thrive under the pressure.
Arsenal
Olivier Giroud will be hoping to fire Arsenal to a successful Christmas campaign
December 26, Southampton (a): 12th
December 28, Bournemouth (h): 14th
January 2, Newcastle (h): 17th Average opponent position: 14.3
Arsene
Wenger will be pleased to see his Christmas schedule consists of three
teams in the bottom half of the table, and with just one away game
against a Southampton side who have not won since November 7.
Bournemouth and Newcastle have both experienced an upturn in form
recently but Arsenal underlined their title credentials with a win over Manchester City on Monday Night
Manchester United
Louis van Gaal faces tough games at Stoke and home to Chelsea
December 26, Stoke (a): 11th
December 28, Chelsea (h): 15th
January 2, Swansea (h): 18th Average opponent position: 14.7
Van
Gaal is under immense pressure after his side's home loss against
Norwich extended Manchester United's winless streak to six games in all
competitions. United's first chance to put the record right is away at
Stoke, who have only beaten United once in Premier League history.
Neither Chelsea nor Swansea were expected to be in their current league
positions at the start of the season, and United will look to profit on
their struggles as Van Gaal looks to ease the evident tension
surrounding his position.
Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Alexis
Sanchez could miss four matches over the holiday period after the
striker suffered 'a setback' on his comeback from injury.
The Arsenal manager had said Sanchez had a 'slight chance'
of facing Manchester City in the Monday Night Football match after
missing the Gunners' last three games with a hamstring injury.
But Sanchez did not make the bench for the 2-1 win at the Emirates stadium
and Wenger said: "Sanchez will be back for around the 10th January. He
had a little setback. He was planned to be on the bench tonight
[Monday]. We didn't take a gamble at all."
The celebrations
around the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal's players took the acclaim of
their fans at the final whistle after their win against Manchester City
illustrated the result's significance.
It was not simply relief at surviving a late City rally to secure a deserved
2-1 win
or delight at closing the gap on surprise Premier League leaders Leicester City to two points.
Add caption
This was the sort of victory that had Arsenal fans believing they can end a title drought that stretches back to 2004.
Their best chance of a title in a decade?
Arsenal have endured years of pain since 'The
Invincibles' claimed the Premier League title after 38 unbeaten games -
but the evidence is stacking up that they can finally end the wait.
It is 10 years since they finished in the top two and
only twice in the intervening period have they occupied one of those two
slots after 17 games, as they do now.
Only once since 2003-04 have they had more points than
the 36 they have now, when they had 40 in 2007-2008 and finished third.
A season of two halves?
Season
Position after 17 games
Points after 17 games
Final position
2004-05
3rd
35
2nd
2005-06
7th
29
4th
2006-07
3rd
29
4th
2007-08
1st
40
3rd
2008-09
5th
30
4th
2009-10
3rd
35
3rd
2010-11
3rd
32
4th
2011-12
5th
32
3rd
2012-13
5th
27
4th
2013-14
2nd
36
4th
2014-15
6th
27
3rd
2015-16
2nd
36
TBC
And for all Leicester's brilliance at the top of the
table, the win against City came against a team many believe will
ultimately emerge as Arsenal's closest rivals. It was a victory that
delivered a psychological blow.
This was Manchester City's fifth loss this season and
no team has won the Premier League when they have lost five games before
Christmas.
It was a result and performance that will only add to
Arsenal's confidence and self-belief as they search for that inner
X-factor that has eluded them when they have been in the hunt for the
big prize in the barren title years.
"Our belief is strong," said Wenger. "We have a bit
more maturity in the side now, which you could see in the game when we
were under pressure and we could deal with it.
"Every win strengthens the belief when it's a big game like that."
The Gunners have nine more points than they did at this
stage last season - they were 15 points adrift of leaders Chelsea 12
months ago - but a glance at the fixture list shows that tough tests
await, with visits to Manchester City, Manchester United, Spurs, Everton
and Liverpool to come.
Arsenal currently have the edge on those other
traditional rivals, Chelsea and Manchester United, adding a layer to the
growing belief that it is now or never for Wenger and his team this
season.
Head-to-head record this season
P
W
D
L
F
A
GD
Pts
Arsenal
3
2
0
1
5
3
+2
6
Man City
3
1
1
1
4
2
+2
4
Chelsea
2
1
0
1
2
3
-1
3
Man Utd
2
0
1
1
0
3
-3
1
Manchester City, as the game at the Emirates proved,
are inconsistent this season, producing performances that are often
below par.
Manchester United are fading fast, without a win in six
games and currently out of the top four and out of this year's
Champions League to leave manager Louis van Gaal fighting for his job.
Chelsea are an irrelevance in the title race, stranded
in 15th place with only half of Arsenal's points and with a temporary
manager taking charge in Guus Hiddink.
The Gunners now have a four-point advantage over City
and seven over United - and it is reasonable to suggest this is an
opportunity that might not present itself to Arsenal as readily again.
Are Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea likely to be as vulnerable next season?
City may well have Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola in charge by then and have limitless funds to back him.
Serial winner Jose Mourinho could be in the dugout at
Old Trafford with a burning desire to prove a point after his sacking,
while Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will be ready to back the next
high-profile manager through the door at Chelsea with a serious transfer
kitty.
Join the dots and this is Arsenal's best opportunity in
recent memory - and one they would never forgive themselves for
squandering.
Arsenal vs Barcelona; Europa League draw - Man Utd get Midtjylland in the Europe League
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City find out their Champions League round of
16 opponents in Monday's draw in Nyon
Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain to meet in knockout stage for third season running Bayern München pitted against 2014/15 runners-up Juventus Final set for San Siro in Milan on Saturday 28 May ROUND OF 16 DRAW 16 February & 9 March Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) v Chelsea (ENG) Benfica (POR) v Zenit (RUS) 17 February & 8 March Gent (BEL) v Wolfsburg (GER) Roma (ITA) v Real Madrid (ESP) 23 February & 16 March Arsenal (ENG) v Barcelona (ESP) Juventus (ITA) v Bayern München (GER) 24 February & 15 March PSV Eindhoven (NED) v Atlético Madrid (ESP) Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) v Manchester City (ENG)
