Premier League talking points: Can Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Man Utd bounce back?
Manchester United’s 5-0 thumping at the hands of Liverpool last weekend has piled huge pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ahead of Saturday evening’s Premier League trip to Tottenham.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the major talking points in the English top flight this weekend.
Can Solskjaer survive?
The Norwegian described the home humiliation against Liverpool as the “darkest day” in his time in charge of the club but, despite intense speculation over his future, he remains in the dugout for the trip to north London.
He says he has seen evidence this week of his players being prepared to get “in the trenches” and fight for a result, and likened his side’s performance against Liverpool to a boxer being knocked down early in a bout.
“We had a chance, we conceded a goal, and we wanted to sort it out and we went a bit too open and too frantic against a good team,” he said on Friday.
“You see Tyson Fury when he gets knocked down a few times, it’s remarkable. Maybe we got up too early and tried to sort it.”
More Tyneside trauma ahead?
Newcastle have taken one point from their two Premier League matches since the Saudi-led takeover of the club and victory looks a tough ask against Thomas Tuchel’s table-topping Chelsea on Saturday.
Interim boss Graeme Jones admits he would be opening a bottle of red wine to celebrate if his team can pull off an unlikely win, and has described the period between now and New Year’s Day as “defining” for the club.
Vardy’s Gunner get you
Leicester striker Jamie Vardy already has 11 goals to his name against Arsenal heading into Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off at the King Power Stadium, with his team having won four in a row in all competitions if the Carabao Cup shoot-out success against Brighton is included.
Only Wayne Rooney (12) has scored more Premier League goals against the Gunners.
Arsenal have been weakened by a sickness bug this week which looks set to rule Ben White out of the trip to the east midlands.
Super Salah capable of helping Reds equal scoring record
Mohamed Salah and Liverpool can equal Chelsea (2010) and Manchester City (2017) by winning three Premier League games in a row by five goals or more this weekend when Brighton come to Anfield.
The Egyptian became only the third player in the league’s history to reach double figures for goals before his side’s 10th match of the season, after Les Ferdinand and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Will life get rougher for Rafa?
Everton boss Rafael Benitez will be wanting a swift response from his side when they take on Wolves at Molineux on Monday night after they slumped to a 5-2 home defeat to Watford last weekend.
The Spaniard, whose appointment at Goodison Park over the summer was questioned by many fans given his links to their arch-rivals Liverpool, says he does not feel under any additional pressure after his men were stung by the Hornets.
He will perhaps draw comfort from the fact that Everton beat Wolves home and away last season.
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