EFL Talking Points

Sport360 staff 18:10 27/10/2016
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  • STURRIDGE ON THE DOUBLE BUT WILL HE FORCE HIS WAY INTO KLOPP’S PLANS?

    Daniel Sturridge scored twice as Liverpool knocked Tottenham out of the EFL Cup at Anfield on Tuesday night to set up a last eight meeting with Leeds United.

    The England striker was back to his lively best after a rather indifferent start to the season – which has seen him used mostly as a substitute.

    He was given the opportunity to start against Manchester United in an earlier Premier League fixture but was withdrawn after an ineffective 60 minutes.

    However, Sturridge was excellent on Tuesday, and there’s no doubt he is the best natural finisher at the club, but does he fit into Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy?

    At the minute, he certainly does not and there is a lot of speculation regarding his future.

    Can he force his way into the German’s plans? He certainly has the class and ability, but does he have the work-rate? Time will tell, but despite his cup heroics on, expect to see Sturridge on the bench when Liverpool travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace on Saturday.

    WHAT’S THE MATA WITH MANCHESTER CITY?

    Manchester City have now gone six games in all competitions without a victory and it is concerning despite the best efforts of Pep Guardiola to play it all down.

    He did play an under-strength team on Wednesday night at Old Trafford, as his side lost to their bitter rivals 1-0 thanks to a goal from Juan Mata.

    But City did finish the match with Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Jesus Navas all on the pitch and they didn’t look at all threatening not only in the closing stages, but for the majority of the game.

    It’s hard to even recall a decent goal-scoring opportunity they created, apart from Navas’ cross which Kelechi Iheanacho headed over early on, and that must be a worry for Pep even if he is refuting claims his side are on the wane.

    There’s no doubting they’re stuck in a rut, and they badly need a result to silence the critics when they travel to The Hawthorns to face West Brom this weekend.

    CARRICK AND MATA IMPRESS BUT POGBA IS AGIAN NO ‘DAB HAND’

    Michael Carrick reiterated once again why he should play every week for United with another vintage performance in the middle of the park.

    He controlled proceedings and was excellent in possession all evening. Mata was the match-winner, and the little Spaniard was a constant menace to the City back-line.

    Paul Pogba on the other hand had another quiet night at the office, and again was the victim of an online ambush of jokes and GIFs on social media outlets in the aftermath of the game.

    He did hit the post in the second-half, but was pretty anonymous for the entire match.

    He loves to ‘dab’ when he scores – but he’s proving to be no ‘dab hand’ at the minute as he continues to struggle to justify the over-inflated price paid to acquire his services.

    SIX OF THE BEST HAS THE TOON ARMY DREAMING OF WEMBLEY

    Rafa Benitez has steered Newcastle to the top of the Champioship table, and you wouldn’t bet against staying there for the rest of the season.

    In fairness with the players they have at their disposal and their massive budget in contrast to other Championship clubs, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Newcastle top of the pile.

    However, it’s the style of play that has got a lot of neutrals talking about them – and with six goals midweek against Preston in the EFL Cup, people are starting to take notice.

    Benitez would be considered a fairly conservative manager, and his teams wouldn’t always play a very expansive brand of football, just ask any Liverpool supporter.

    Newcastle’s amazing team goal against Ipswich Town at the weekend went viral. Every single Newcastle player touched the ball in a stunning 22-pass move.

    The Geordies are loving the football under Rafa at the minute, with comparisons being made to that of the swashbuckling style of play under Kevin Keegan in the ’90s.

    With a cup quarter-final against Hull City to look forward too, the ‘Toon Army’ are dreaming of Wembley – and perhaps Rafa producing some cup magic again to end Newcastle’s trophy drought is not such a crazy thought. They are the EFL dark horses.

    BLACK CATS MANAGER MOYES RUNNING OUT OF LIVES

    David Moyes has endured a pretty disastrous time since leaving Everton to replace Alex Ferguson at United.

    The Scot was regarded as one of the best managers in the Premier League, and had enjoyed a brilliant decade at Goodison Park.

    His reign at Old Trafford only lasted 10 months, before he headed to Spain to take over as boss of Real Sociedad where he stayed for just over a year before replacing Sam Allardyce at Sunderland this summer.

    However, he’s had a horrendous start to life at The Stadium of Light, and has won just two games all season.

    The EFL offered a welcome distraction, but they bowed out of the competition after another limp display away to Southampton.

    The fans are growing restless, and with a tough run of fixtures on the horizon, Moyes is under real pressure to save his job.

    With a home clash this weekend against Arsenal, it certainly doesn’t get any easier for the Glaswegian who is now odds on to be the first managerial casualty in the Premier League this season.

    FOOTBALL HOOLIGANISM REARS ITS UGLY HEAD AS WEST HAM DUMP CHELSEA OUT

    Unfortunately, rather than highlighting West Ham’s terrific win over fierce rivals Chelsea, the headlines in the aftermath of the result focused on the violence that marred the encounter.

    There were a number of unsavoury clashes between both sets of supporters with plastic bottles, coins, and chairs used as missiles during the violence.

    Supporters from both sides also clashed with police, and seven arrests were subsequently made.

    It’s the latest in a long line of incidents at the London Stadium since West Ham moved to their new residence after leaving their spiritual home at Upton Park at the end of last season.

    West Ham manager Slaven Bilic condemned the incidents and labelled them ‘unacceptable’.

    The Hammers were two goals to the good before Gary Cahill slammed home a late consolation in injury-time.

    Bilic has turned the corner after a disastrous start to the season, with back-to-back wins over Sunderland and Chelsea.

    However, the deplorable violence dominated the talking points – and the fear that football could return to the dark old days when hooliganism was rife in the ’70s and ’80s.

    Hopefully the FA can nip this disturbing behaviour in the bud before it becomes a recurring theme again.

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