EPL Double Whammy again 19th June

This has been a season with ample positivity from Norwich and some great, progressive performances, but not much to show for it in the table. They currently sit bottom of the league and 6 points from safety with a far worse goal difference than any other team. Should they wish to mount an unlikely comeback to remain in the Premier League, they will have to be nearly perfect, starting with an essential result at Carrow Road today against Southampton.

The last time Norwich played at home, they produced one of their results of the season with a euphoric 1-0 win over Leicester. There are fewer positives nearly four months later. Although talismanic forward Temu Pukki has had time to address his toe injury, Daniel Farke confirmed the brutal news that defenders Grant Hanley, Christoph Zimmermann and Sam Byram will all be out of action for the remainder of the season, a major issue that prompted the understatement of the year from Farke yesterday: “The long break didn’t help too much.” No, really?*

Shane Long will likely be absent with a lingering back injury** for the away side, but Southampton are certainly one of the teams that may feel that mid-season break did help in some ways. Although they sit in 14th, Southampton are not safe. Going into lockdown, they had been on a concerning downward spiral that could have seen them sucked closer to the relegation battle with four defeats in their previous five league games. When it is their turn to host an empty stadium, they are also one of the few teams whose home record will surely not be negatively affected by the difference - after all, they already hold the worst home record in the league.

One thing is certain today - this will be another surreal afternoon in the Premier League as both players and onlookers continue to adjust to the sight of these familiar teams in unfamiliar, crowd-less situations. Let’s hope that nobody achieves the impressive distinction of performing as badly as David Luiz in the last game.***

The lockdown came at exactly the wrong time for Manchester United. Here’s what they did in their last 11 matches before the Premier League was suspended in March: Win! Win! Draw! Win! Draw! Win! Win! Draw! Win! Win! Win! The last six matches in that sequence saw them rattle up an aggregate score of 19-1. Their chops were up all right after that tricky start to the season.

Tottenham Hotspur were far happier to press pause. Here’s what they did in their last six matches before the lockdown: Lose! Lose! Ship a half-time lead to lose! Lose a penalty shoot-out before exchanging views with members of the crowd! Draw! Get thumped by Leipzig! The following three barren months have provided a welcome opportunity to take stock.

Whether they’d have chosen United as their first match back is a moot point. Spurs have a decent recent record at home against the Red Devils, it’s true, winning three of the last four fixtures. But they lost the last one, 1-0 at Wembley in January 2019, and were beaten 2-1 at Old Trafford last December as well. On both occasions they were slain by the same goalscorer. Her Majesty’s Government will be relieved they’re not the only noble institution Marcus Rashford enjoys running rings around.

But Spurs were muddling along without their first-choice front line before the break - and now Harry Kane and Son Heung-min are both fit again. That’s huge for a team desperate to win this evening. Spurs are in eighth, seven points off fourth-placed Chelsea, four behind United in the fifth spot that may be good enough for the Champions League next season, depending on Manchester City’s fate. Three points tonight would put them right in the mix; a draw or defeat would put their place at Europe’s top table in serious jeopardy.

United want those three points too, of course. A third win on the bounce against Spurs would see them leapfrog Chelsea into fourth place, at least for a couple of days, consolidate their position ahead of the chasing pack, and provide more evidence that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may just be onto something. Their good news: the heroic Rashford has recovered from a back problem, while Paul Pogba returns after an ankle injury.

So a world of possibility opens up for us tonight. It’s part four of the Premier League’s Big Return. It’s two of the biggest clubs in world football, both battling for elite continental football next season. It’s a star-studded affair featuring Kane! Rashford! Solskjaer! Jose Mourinho! And it’s on!