‘Cityzens’ and ‘toffees’ face each other after harsh words from Sean Dyche about penalties
Manchester City and Everton face each other on matchday 24 of the Premier League.
The game is, for now, marked by the words of Sean Dyche, who complained about what he considers to be a duality of criteria when it comes to financial fair play. «Like everyone else, we ask ourselves what one rule does for one (Everton) and another for the other (Manchester City). People on the street ask… Why Everton? I don’t know what the exact number is, but they refer to more than 100 accusations against City.” Pep Guardiola devalued. «You know my opinion on this. I’ve said it many times. I have nothing more to add. I have a lot of respect for Sean Dyche, my record against his teams in the past is irrelevant. Congratulations on your 300th game in the Premier League, you can’t do that unless you’re good”, praised the Spaniard.
As for the game played, Manchester City intends to maintain its pursuit of first place, which is two points away, even though Liverpool has one more game played. The team is at full strength and should certainly make the Toffees feel the high pressure and wear and tear of the skyblues’ positional attack. Possession of the ball, however, does not win games alone: Sean Dyche is known for the pragmatism of his game and his team has shown that, even with 10 points less, they can compete with any opponent.
Liverpool, current leader, plays Burnley. Jurgen Klopp’s team is injured after the tough 3-1 defeat at Arsenal, but will aim to react against Burnley, who are fighting for maintenance. Salah continues to be absent, as does Thiago Alcântara, but the team seems to be recovering, little by little, its injured players. Endo is already an option and the midfield is increasingly healthy, against the Clarets who, under Kompany’s guidance, seem to have good principles that, in practice, are not having the desired effect.
Tottenham host Brighton, and there is good news for Ange Postecoglou. Heung-min Son, “star of the company”, has already returned to the options, as well as Pape Matar-Sarr and Bissouma. They are important reinforcements for the Spurs coach, who has felt the absence of several members, either due to injury or because of national team competitions. On the other hand, the injuries to Solly March, Mitoma and João Pedro are worrying for Roberto De Zerbi, whose team often uses its high offensive power to compensate for poor defensive results.
Wolverhampton and Brentford face each other at different times: the Wolves have only lost one of the last five, the Bees have only won once. Pedro Neto, José Sá, Toti Gomes and Nélson Semedo have been starters for Gary O’Neill’s team, which has the entire squad at his disposal. On the other side, there is Brentford, fighting to stay but with a great winter reinforcement: Ivan Toney. The striker has been scoring in this return for several months and his quality is such that even Thomas Frank has already admitted that «he is most likely to be sold in the summer».
Marco Silva’s Fulham plays Bournemouth. Separated by one point, both teams are fighting for 12th place. João Palhinha’s team had a good start to the year, although they stagnated in the last few games, like Bournemouth. The big figure of the match is Dominik Solanke, the Cherries striker, who is just one goal behind Salah and Haaland’s 14, the Premier League’s top scorers.
In the fight for maintenance, there are Luton and Sheffield United. The Kenilworth Road team is having a surprising championship, and it is no surprise that they are favoritism against the Blades, bottom of the Premier League. Adebayo is the great figure for the hosts: he has already scored nine goals in the championship.