Derbies on the double
Manchester clash poised to become the most expensive and most watched EPL match in history Liverpool’s ‘fab four’ have been compared to Manchester City’s attacking unit ahead of Merseyside derby
Yaya Touré believes Manchester City’s firepower will leave Manchester United fearful in today’s derby at Old Trafford as football braces itself for the most expensive and possibly the most watched English Premier League (EPL) match in history.
City have the chance to open up an 11point lead over their nearest rivals at the top of the table with a record-equalling 14th consecutive league win in a match that will be beamed into one billion homes across 189 countries and could go a long way towards shaping the title race.
There are only four UN-registered countries where the match will not be broadcast — North Korea, Cuba, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Moldova — and the match could yet challenge the biggest live audience in the EPLera, when 4.081 million viewers watched City beat United 1-0 in April 2012 en route to lifting their first title for 44 years.
With the combined transfer value of the two teams’ starting sides likely to top £650million, despite the absence of almost £220million of talent in Paul Pogba, who is suspended, and the injured trio of John Stones, Benjamin Mendy and Eric Bailly, the match is also expected to be the most expensive football has staged.
City suffered a first loss of the season in their 2-1 Champions League dead rubber defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in sub-zero temperatures on Wednesday night and only returned to Manchester the following day after a gruelling four-day stay in Ukraine.
But Touré believes the defeat will focus minds at City after a run of 20 successive victories and is convinced United will be afraid of an attack that has plundered 62 goals in 23 matches this term.
United conceded 33 shots to Arsenal in their 3-1 win at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday, but Touré does not expect José Mourinho’s side to be so open against City and instead seek to get bodies behind the ball and break on the counterattack.
Mourinho had attracted criticism for a perceived negative approach in the 0-0 draw against Liverpool at Anfield in October and United have also been cagey in league games against Spurs and Chelsea this term.
“This game [today] can give us a lift for the future,” the City midfield star said. “This year, I think, when you see United, they are going to be worried about us.
“That’s going to make them very dangerous on the counterattack and we have to be ready for that. Otherwise, we will see the game they played against Arsenal a few days ago, so we have to be careful.
“We don’t want to lose. We have to keep this kind of gap on United, because now, when I see United playing games against big teams, they always wait for a mistake to hit them on the counterattack.
“It’s going to be difficult because the way you saw Shakhtar play is the way United will play — counterattack, counterattack, very fast and very strong.
“It’s a huge game. Derbies are always special. We are in a good moment, especially in the Premier League.”
If the Shakhtar defeat helps guard against complacency, Touré believes it could be well timed. “The people around the club, when we start to win a lot of games, they start to say a lot of things and it’s not good. Some of us could relax and drop our levels.
“So, if you have to choose a moment to lose, then this would be the right one.”
Even if City succeed in opening up an 11point gap over United, though, Touré said that the memory of their own title triumph in 2011/12, when they overturned United’s eight-point lead with six matches of the season left, should serve as a warning not to believe the title race is over.
“I remember in 2012 when we won the league, United were first and had an eightpoint lead, but we came back,” he said. “You have to be careful because the Premier League is such a tough league, you can’t relax. It will be tough in the second half of the season, especially against the sides who are fighting not to be relegated. We have to be aware of that.” — © The Daily Telegraph, London
Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman says he would be surprised to see Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp start their “fab four” in today’s Merseyside derby against an Everton side buoyed by the appointment of new permanent manager Sam Allardyce.
Despite a poor start to the campaign, the Toffees have won back-to-back league matches following Allardyce’s appointment last week to climb up to 10th in the table.
But they play free-scoring Liverpool having not won at Anfield in 18 years.
“It’s been too long,” said Gylfi Sigurdsson, the 28-year-old Everton midfielder. “Hopefully that will change this weekend [today].”
Sigurdsson was part of the Iceland squad that knocked England out of the Euro 2016 during an unlikely run to the quarterfinals in their first international tournament. Iceland have also qualified for the Russia World Cup.
“You’re speaking to someone from Iceland where you’re the underdog in every game for your national team,” he said. “I personally know anything is possible.”
Sigurdsson, a £45-million summer signing from Swansea City, said: “Sam has been good. Very direct. We know what he wants and he explains it very well.
“He looks after the players very well to get the best out of them. He’s very experienced and I think that will benefit us.”
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino have earned the “fab four” nickname for a string of impressive attacking displays this season.
All four were on target in the Reds’ 7-0 win against Spartak Moscow on Wednesday, with Coutinho scoring a hat-trick to ensure they clinched top spot in their Champions
This game [today] can give us a lift for the future Yaya Touré Manchester City midfield player I’d be surprised if he starts with all four of them Leon Osman Ex-Everton midfielder
League group.
However, the fact that Jordan Henderson was rested in midweek has led Osman to believe Klopp may hesitate to start all four attacking players today.
“I would be surprised if he starts with all four of them — he usually plays three. It’s not reckless [if he starts all four], but he usually leaves out one, if not two in the big games.
“I thought it was really interesting he left Henderson out. If he was resting anyone going into the game, I thought it would have been one of the front four,” Osman said.
Liverpool currently have 33 league goals to their name after 15 matches played, with only the two Manchester sides ahead of them in that aspect.
And while Manchester City comfortably lead the way with 46 goals, Osman believes it would be fair to compare Liverpool’s attack to that of the Premier League leaders.
“The pace and guile, the way they link up — their second goal [against Spartak] with interchanging movement and passing to set up Coutinho for a tap-in. Even from across the park it’s great to watch, football-wise.
“You can certainly compare it to City and the way they play. I think City are a touch braver, who have an extra midfielder in [David] Silva and [Kevin] De Bruyne, but Liverpool’s attack is frightening enough on its own,” Osman added.
Meanwhile, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy believes Klopp’s tactics will heavily revolve around the front four today, likening them to the attacking trio of Luis Suárez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling, who almost guided the Reds to Premier League glory in 2013/14.
“There’s a confidence in Liverpool’s front four that I haven’t seen in a while, perhaps since Brendan Rodgers got Suárez, Sturridge and Sterling going,” Murphy said.
“If I’m the Liverpool manager, I’m telling them to just go out and play with intensity and freedom, and hit them early.”
However, Klopp urged his players not to succumb to the hype generated by their great performances after they crushed Spartak.
“We showed that we learnt from the mistake we made in Seville,” he said, referring to Liverpool’s 3-3 draw against Sevilla on their previous Group E outing, when they had squandered a 3-0 lead.”
In today’s other Premier League match, Arsenal travel to St Mary’s Stadium to play Southampton. — skysports.com and AFP