Post by staggerstag on Apr 4, 2017 18:09:39 GMT
Since Ranieri's departure, Leicester have clambered their way up to 13th, which is a sight more than Sunderland have done (rock bottom 20th) under David Moyes. Eight points adrift from safety the Black Cats remain firm favourites for the drop. A win for the Foxes will put them on 36 points and virtually safe (and to think, only a few weeks back they were mentioned in the same breath as relegation-haunted Hull, Swansea and Boro)
Elsewhere Watford host WBA, Stoke visit Burnley and Man Utd take on Everton at Old Trafford.
Leicester :Schmeichel; Simpson, Benalouane, Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez, Ndidi, Drinkwater, Gray; Vardy, Okazaki. Subs: Chilwell, King, Albrighton, Amartey, Slimani, Zieler, Ulloa.
Sunderland : Pickford; Jones, Denayer, Kone, Oviedo; Cattermole, Larsson, Rodwell, Ndong; Borini, Defoe. Subs: Mannone, Djilobodji, Khazri, Manquillo, Gibson, Anichebe, Januzaj.
Leicester 1/2
Sunderland 13/2
Draw 7/2
Preamble by Nick Miller :
"Oh David. David, David, David. If nothing else, you wouldn’t imagine that Davie Moyes would want to give anyone an excuse to bin him off without having to pay any compo. But then again he presumably didn’t think he was doing anything wrong when he dug into the obvious comedy goldmine that is violence against women for some top banter. He’s apologised to “the girl” now, so everything on that score is just absolutely fine. Which is more than can be said for his football team, who are bottom of the league and heading down, down, down, just like their manager’s grip on his own plot: by the end of this set of Premier League fixtures they could find themselves a stonking 11 points away from safety, with just eight games remaining. They are, it hardly needs saying, toast."
Man Utd : De Gea; Young, Bailly, Rojo, Blind; Ander Herrera, Carrick, Fellaini; Lingard, Ibrahimovic, Rashford. Subs: Pogba, Martial, Romero, Mkhitaryan, Shaw, Fosu-Mensah, Darmian.
Everton : Robles; Holgate, Jagielka, Ashley Williams, Baines; Davies, Barry, Gueye; Mirallas, Lukaku, Barkley. Subs: Valencia, Stekelenburg, Calvert-Lewin, Lookman, Pennington, Kenny, Joe Williams.
Man Utd 3/5
Everton 11/2
Draw 3
Preamble by Jacob Steinburg :
"While Everton are still licking their wounds from their latest disappointment at Anfield, at least they’ll turn up at Old Trafford knowing that they’ve won on this ground in the 21st century. It’s a little over three years since Bryan Oviedo tapped home Romelu Lukaku’s cross-shot at the far post late on, sparking wild celebrations in the away end and raising hopes that Everton were ready to to push into the top four. Then again, Manchester United were being managed by football’s answer to Stewart Lee, David Moyes, at the time, so ... y’know.
Thing is, Everton haven’t been in the top four picture since that campaign. The early promise under Roberto Martinez soon gave way to two seasons of high farce. In Martinez’s place came Ronald Koeman, who has brought fresh steel and professionalism to Everton, who certainly look more sturdy these days, albeit without quite convincing that they’re ready to take the next step. Koeman has improved Everton’s defence, he’s made some top signings, a new stadium’s on the way, the academy is flourishing and Romelu Lukaku is in hot goalscoring form. But Everton are seventh. There have been flashes - a 4-0 thumping of Manchester City in January was one of the performances of the season - but following last month’s defeat at Tottenham by losing at Liverpool on Saturday shows them how far they have to go before they can say they’re capable of being more than the best of the rest. A win tonight takes Everton level with United in fifth, but it’s hard not to suspect they’ll be finishing seventh.
Mind you, United could tell them a thing or two about standing still. Like Everton, their season has been a mixture of promise and frustration. After another tepid home draw with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, their hopes of claiming a top-four berth are receding and the prospect of them qualifying for the Champions League next season seemingly rest on Europa League glory. Supporters are still on board with Jose Mourinho and they’ll tell anyone who’s willing to listen that the style of football really is very encouraging. This long unbeaten league run, stretching back to the 4-0 defeat at Chelsea in October, has even led to talk of United being the new Invincibles (if you ignore the games they’ve lost, that is), but all this run has done is lift them from sixth to fifth and mainly brings to mind Boris Grishenko immortal scenes from Goldeneye. Scoring 42 goals in 28 league games tells its own story; so do 11 draws. No more excuses about pesky goalkeepers and bad luck in front of goal and ifs and buts: just as it’s about time Everton made a statement in a big away game, it’s about time United won a game at home. And what better time than the present?"
Elsewhere Watford host WBA, Stoke visit Burnley and Man Utd take on Everton at Old Trafford.
Leicester :Schmeichel; Simpson, Benalouane, Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez, Ndidi, Drinkwater, Gray; Vardy, Okazaki. Subs: Chilwell, King, Albrighton, Amartey, Slimani, Zieler, Ulloa.
Sunderland : Pickford; Jones, Denayer, Kone, Oviedo; Cattermole, Larsson, Rodwell, Ndong; Borini, Defoe. Subs: Mannone, Djilobodji, Khazri, Manquillo, Gibson, Anichebe, Januzaj.
Leicester 1/2
Sunderland 13/2
Draw 7/2
Preamble by Nick Miller :
"Oh David. David, David, David. If nothing else, you wouldn’t imagine that Davie Moyes would want to give anyone an excuse to bin him off without having to pay any compo. But then again he presumably didn’t think he was doing anything wrong when he dug into the obvious comedy goldmine that is violence against women for some top banter. He’s apologised to “the girl” now, so everything on that score is just absolutely fine. Which is more than can be said for his football team, who are bottom of the league and heading down, down, down, just like their manager’s grip on his own plot: by the end of this set of Premier League fixtures they could find themselves a stonking 11 points away from safety, with just eight games remaining. They are, it hardly needs saying, toast."
Man Utd : De Gea; Young, Bailly, Rojo, Blind; Ander Herrera, Carrick, Fellaini; Lingard, Ibrahimovic, Rashford. Subs: Pogba, Martial, Romero, Mkhitaryan, Shaw, Fosu-Mensah, Darmian.
Everton : Robles; Holgate, Jagielka, Ashley Williams, Baines; Davies, Barry, Gueye; Mirallas, Lukaku, Barkley. Subs: Valencia, Stekelenburg, Calvert-Lewin, Lookman, Pennington, Kenny, Joe Williams.
Man Utd 3/5
Everton 11/2
Draw 3
Preamble by Jacob Steinburg :
"While Everton are still licking their wounds from their latest disappointment at Anfield, at least they’ll turn up at Old Trafford knowing that they’ve won on this ground in the 21st century. It’s a little over three years since Bryan Oviedo tapped home Romelu Lukaku’s cross-shot at the far post late on, sparking wild celebrations in the away end and raising hopes that Everton were ready to to push into the top four. Then again, Manchester United were being managed by football’s answer to Stewart Lee, David Moyes, at the time, so ... y’know.
Thing is, Everton haven’t been in the top four picture since that campaign. The early promise under Roberto Martinez soon gave way to two seasons of high farce. In Martinez’s place came Ronald Koeman, who has brought fresh steel and professionalism to Everton, who certainly look more sturdy these days, albeit without quite convincing that they’re ready to take the next step. Koeman has improved Everton’s defence, he’s made some top signings, a new stadium’s on the way, the academy is flourishing and Romelu Lukaku is in hot goalscoring form. But Everton are seventh. There have been flashes - a 4-0 thumping of Manchester City in January was one of the performances of the season - but following last month’s defeat at Tottenham by losing at Liverpool on Saturday shows them how far they have to go before they can say they’re capable of being more than the best of the rest. A win tonight takes Everton level with United in fifth, but it’s hard not to suspect they’ll be finishing seventh.
Mind you, United could tell them a thing or two about standing still. Like Everton, their season has been a mixture of promise and frustration. After another tepid home draw with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, their hopes of claiming a top-four berth are receding and the prospect of them qualifying for the Champions League next season seemingly rest on Europa League glory. Supporters are still on board with Jose Mourinho and they’ll tell anyone who’s willing to listen that the style of football really is very encouraging. This long unbeaten league run, stretching back to the 4-0 defeat at Chelsea in October, has even led to talk of United being the new Invincibles (if you ignore the games they’ve lost, that is), but all this run has done is lift them from sixth to fifth and mainly brings to mind Boris Grishenko immortal scenes from Goldeneye. Scoring 42 goals in 28 league games tells its own story; so do 11 draws. No more excuses about pesky goalkeepers and bad luck in front of goal and ifs and buts: just as it’s about time Everton made a statement in a big away game, it’s about time United won a game at home. And what better time than the present?"
