ONE thing every club needs to work on in the international break
Arsenal need to mentally prepare themselves for the title race and Manchester United cannot take the top four for granted… one thing EVERY Premier League club must work on in international break
- The international break gives each Premier League side the chance to regroup
- There is still an awful lot to play for, with the title race still in the balance
- Arsenal are chasing the top prize, while at the bottom eight sides face the drop
The March international break is upon us, and that means the end of the season is in sight.
All 20 Premier League teams still have something to play for as we approach what promises to be an exciting final run-in.
The title race between Arsenal and Manchester City could go to the final day, and there are also several teams hunting down a top four finish.
At the other end of the table, the bottom nine clubs are separated by just four points.
Sportsmail has picked out one thing each side needs to work on during the international break to give themselves the best chance of finishing the season strongly.
Arsenal – Holding their nerve
After having a bit of a wobble in February, Arsenal have got back on track in recent weeks and are in pole position to win their first title in 19 years. But they need only look back to last season to see how quickly things can unravel.
With 10 games to go last term, the Gunners looked nailed on to get into the top four, but they imploded and ended up just missing out to north London rivals Tottenham.
Several players have spoken about the pain of falling just short of their target last May. Learning from that experience and mentally preparing themselves for the title race with Manchester City will be crucial.
Mikel Arteta and his men are within sight of the title after an incredible campaign
Aston Villa – Belief
The final weeks of the season can be a bit of a slog for mid-table teams but Villa still have plenty to play for.
Unai Emery is starting to get the best out of his players, and with three wins from their last four the team have a genuine chance of getting into Europe.
It won’t be easy as they still have several teams ahead of them in the race for the top seven, but if Emery can instill belief into his players there is no reason why they can’t close that four-point gap to the European spots in the coming weeks.
Bournemouth – Defensive solidity
No team has conceded more goals in the Premier League than Bournemouth. Gary O’Neil’s team are currently shipping two goals a game and that is not going to be good enough to keep them in the top-flight.
Things did look more promising when they kept Liverpool at bay in a 1-0 win earlier this month, but they were then beaten 3-0 by Aston Villa, and before their victory over the Reds they conceded seven goals in two matches against Manchester City and Arsenal.
Bournemouth still have a fighting chance of staying up, but they must become more difficult to break down or they will drop back down to the Championship.
Brentford – Plan B without Toney
Ivan Toney is facing multiple gambling charges and could be given a lengthy ban by the FA.
Manager Thomas Frank certainly appears to be concerned at the punishment that may be handed down imminently.
Yet Toney was still called up to the England squad for the international break. That gives Brentford some time to train without Toney, and Frank should use this smartly by working on a Plan B in case he is without his most important player at the back end of this season or for the start of the next campaign.
Brentford could yet find themselves without Ivan Toney for their Premier League run-in
Brighton – Staying relaxed
It would be very easy to get carried away as a Brighton supporter right now. Roberto De Zerbi’s men are playing great football, have a chance of making the top four, plus the Seagulls have booked their spot in the FA Cup semi-finals.
There is so much to be excited about at the Amex Stadium, but De Zerbi must keep his squad relaxed and not change too much.
Brighton are having one of their best campaigns ever, but cannot get ahead of themselves. If they keep playing as they have been in recent weeks, they are a match for almost every side in the country.
Chelsea – Settling on a starting XI
Chelsea are starting to head in the right direction under Graham Potter after putting together an unbeaten run of four matches.
However, their 2-2 draw with Everton highlighted that there is still a long way to go. Potter looks to have found his preferred system, moving to a 3-4-3 recently, but he is still consistently switching up the personnel at his disposal.
Settling on a starting XI will be important as Chelsea look to build some momentum ahead of next season, and potentially pull off a shock in the Champions League against Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Crystal Palace – Get Zaha firing again
Wilfried Zaha has been Palace’s talisman for a number of years, and started this season on fire with three goals in as many games.
But either side of a hamstring injury, he has been off the boil and has failed to net in his last 11 league appearances.
His body language was also questionable in Palace’s defeat at Arsenal, with Ben White getting the better of him at the Emirates. Palace have been dragged into the relegation battle, and new boss Roy Hodgson needs Zaha to rediscover his spark to move them clear of the bottom three.
Everton – Get Calvert-Lewin fit
It has been a real struggle for Everton in the final third this season. Neal Maupay doesn’t look like he can produce the goals to keep the Toffees up, and Demarai Gray has filled in up front but is more of a creative player.
They badly need to get Dominic Calvert-Lewin back into the team. The England international looked a major handful in his last outing when Everton beat Arsenal in Sean Dyche’s first match in charge, but that was at the start of February.
Since then, he has been sidelined with another injury, and Dyche appears a bit bemused as to what exactly the problem is. Everton’s medical department need to figure it out quickly because Calvert-Lewin could be the difference between the club staying up or being relegated from the Premier League for the first time.
Getting Dominic Calvert-Lewin fit and fighting again would be huge for Sean Dyche’s side
Fulham – Cool heads
Fulham have had an exceptional season after most pundits tipped them to go down at the start of the campaign.
There is no chance of that happening now, but they did lose three on the bounce heading into the international break and completely capitulated against Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Having two players and the manager sent off in a matter of seconds was a low moment in an otherwise impressive season, and Fulham can’t afford a repeat of what happened at Old Trafford.
The Cottagers still have an outside chance of getting into Europe, and Marco Silva must now lead by example and get his team back on task rather than losing their composure and throwing matches away with their behaviour.
Leeds – Be ready to seize their moment
Leeds got a morale-boosting win away at Wolves just before the international break to move out of the relegation zone.
But they are still in danger, and must start fast after the international break.
Their first game is a trip to Arsenal, and anything from that match would be a bonus, but they then host fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.
With the Elland Road crowd behind them, Leeds need to be targeting at least four points from those two fixtures to edge closer to safety.
Leicester – Settle on a goalkeeper
Nobody expected Leicester to be in a relegation dogfight, but here we are. After getting into Europe in recent seasons there is a genuine chance the Foxes could go down this year.
Brendan Rodgers made the bold call to drop Danny Ward in the final game before the international break, replacing him with Daniel Iversen.
Leicester managed to earn a point at Brentford to remain just above the drop zone, but they are still in a precarious position. Rodgers must now decide whether to stick with Iversen or go back to Ward, as having uncertainty in the No 1 position is the last thing Leicester need right now.
Liverpool – Finding a midfield combination
Liverpool’s midfield has been a problem area throughout the season, and Jurgen Klopp will now have to cope without Stefan Bajcetic for the rest of the campaign due to injury.
Thiago Alcantara is also currently sidelined, and it was extremely concerning that Liverpool had to play a midfield duo of Fabinho and James Milner at the Bernabeu.
That partnership is not going to get Liverpool into the top four, so Klopp needs to look at alternatives. That could mean turning to the youth of Fabio Carvalho and Harvey Elliott, or bringing Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain back into the fold, giving them the chance to finish on a high before their expected departures this summer.
Klopp has options, and he has to try something different as Liverpool’s performances in their last two outings against Bournemouth and Real Madrid have simply not been good enough.
Jurgen Klopp needs to find a midfield combination that works for Liverpool until May
Man City – Taking care of Haaland
Erling Haaland has enjoyed a stunning first season in England, and he headed into the international break by scoring a remarkable eight goals in two matches.
But he has been forced to withdraw from Norway’s squad after experiencing groin pain, and this will be a concern for City who are still targeting a treble.
City must be very careful with taking care of Haaland, as they need their talisman if they are going to break their Champions League duck this season.
Man United – Don’t take top four for granted
Erik ten Hag’s side are still competing on three fronts, and face a brutal schedule in the final two months of the season.
They would love to have a top four finish wrapped up so they can focus on the Europa League and FA Cup, but they have been dragged back into the pack in recent weeks.
Their 7-0 loss at Liverpool was a major wake-up call, but they didn’t impress the following week during their 0-0 draw with relegation candidates Southampton either.
United are only three points above fifth-placed Newcastle, and they face the Magpies at St James’ Park next. If they take their eye off the ball at all they will be punished, and missing out on the top four would be devastating after looking nailed on for it just a few weeks ago.
Newcastle – Rebuilding Wilson’s confidence
Callum Wilson excelled in the first part of the season and earned himself a place in England’s World Cup. He looked bright when given opportunities in Qatar as well, unselfishly setting up Jack Grealish for a goal against Iran.
But his form has fallen away badly since coming back from the Middle East, and he has only found the net once in 2023.
He has now lost his place in Newcastle’s starting XI to Alexander Isak, and is unlikely to win it back straight away given the Swede has scored three times in his last two appearances.
Newcastle will need Wilson to step up in the final run-in, though, and Eddie Howe must work on rebuilding the striker’s confidence in front of goal as his side look to maintain their top-four push.
Callum Wilson has not been able to recapture his pre-World Cup form for Eddie Howe’s side
Nottingham Forest – Finding the right balance
Forest looked to have turned a corner in the opening weeks of 2023, but they are right back in the middle of the relegation scrap.
Steve Cooper’s side have failed to win any of their last five games, and a major concern is they are the joint-lowest scorers in the league, and only Bournemouth have conceded more goals than them.
Forest want to play counter-attacking football, using the likes of Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White to trouble sides, but in their latest outing against Newcastle they struggled to keep the ball and looked very fragile at the back. They had similar issues during their recent defeats at Tottenham and West Ham.
With such significant problems at either end of the pitch, they have to be one of the favourites to go down. Forest must improve in possession, and tighten up defensively or it will be hard to see them getting enough points to save themselves.
Southampton – Keeping things tight at the back
Ruben Selles has done well since replacing Nathan Jones, losing just one of his five league matches at the helm.
He took over a team in turmoil, but has managed to get some positive results to keep them in with a chance of staying up.
Four of the five games he has taken charge of have had one goal or less in them, and that is how the Saints may avoid the drop.
Chaotic games like the 3-3 draw against Tottenham are unlikely to keep Southampton up this term, and they must instead focus on being hard to beat and posing a threat on the counter-attack. For the most part that has worked well for Selles so far, and he should continue to stick with this method.
Tottenham – Get a new manager
Antonio Conte’s extraordinary rant after Tottenham’s draw at Southampton is likely to have divided the dressing room.
Some may have respected his willingness to lay down a few home truths, while others won’t have taken too kindly to being publicly criticised.
Now that the Italian has gone, Tottenham need to bring in a new manager that can get all the players singing from the same hymn sheet.
Tottenham are still in fourth place, and have a good chance of securing Champions League football if they make a smart appointment and find a manager to unite the dressing room.
West Ham – Formation
West Ham’s league campaign has been disastrous, and having made the top seven last year they are now in danger of being relegated.
A major issue for David Moyes has been finding his best formation. He has regularly switched between a back three and a back four and this has led to inconsistent performances on the pitch.
Player roles appear to be changing from game to game, and that is why West Ham have had a number of false dawns before throwing in a below-par display. Moyes needs to figure out his best system and stick with it to enable the Hammers to start putting together a run of positive performances that should take them out of the bottom three.
Wolves – Focus on themselves, not VAR
Wolves feel they haven’t had the rub of the green in recent weeks when it comes to VAR, and they have a point.
They should have been awarded a penalty in their 2-1 defeat at Newcastle, and they could easily have had another spot-kick in their 4-2 home loss against Leeds.
Julen Lopetegui and his players may feel the world is against them at the moment, but they have to believe their luck with officials will turn sooner rather than later.
The team must also take some responsibility for their dip in form, having won only one of their last six league matches, and they need to focus their energy on improving as a unit without worrying about any VAR interventions.
Julen Lopetegui and Wolves have been on the end of some poor VAR decisions of late
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