Here are some of the things we are looking out for in the Premier league this new year 6) Van Gaal Getting United Playing Quite simply, thi...
Here are some of the things we are looking out for in the Premier league this new year
6) Van Gaal Getting United Playing
Quite simply, this needs to happen. Not because of the £160m summer spending spree on the likes of Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao; nor because of the added excitement it could bring to the title race.It needs to happen because we're sick of hearing Louis van Gaal banging on about United failing to meet the standards they set in November's 3-0 win over Hull.
The Dutchman has referred to that display on numerous occasions over the past month as he strives for perfection at Old Trafford, but thus far performances have not been married to results.
For a bit of peace from the manager's moans, we'd very much like to see the players begin to follow Van Gaal's instructions.
5) Transfer Madness
It's finally upon us - one whole month of transfer mayhem.
Not a great deal has happened so far but, with the race for the top four wide open and up to nine teams facing the possibility of a relegation dogfight, January is bound to spark into life at some stage.
4) Arsenal Not Losing To Bayern
Thank Christ for that Champions League last-16 draw.Don't get us wrong, Arsene Wenger deserves another shellacking at the hands of Bayern after failing to strengthen his squad sufficiently in the summer, but we're not sure we could take the same narrative, with the same crying in the comments pages, playing out again in February.
Instead, Wenger will face his former club Monaco in a tie Arsenal should really win. Were they to lose, then the manager will not be afforded the easy excuse of having faced a superior opponent.
The Gunners must see off Monaco and offer some hope that they can prove a tough test for anyone in the quarter-finals.
3) Chelsea And City Getting Stronger
It's pretty much already decided that one of these two teams will win the Premier League and, considering they have an equal set of results, goals scored, and goals conceded after 20 matches, we can expect the title race to go right to the wire.
Chelsea and City have played by far the most attractive football in the first half of the campaign and the good news is that we can look forward to them improving even further over the next five months, as is typically the case after Christmas.
Both Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini are also under pressure to achieve in Europe, with domestic success only one request from two demanding boardrooms.
It's fight or flight time for these two Premier League heavyweights, and it should be a brilliant battle.
2) Balotelli Blowing Up
It's pretty clear by now that Brendan Rodgers has given up on Balotelli. The striker is in desperate need of game time after being sidelined by injury, but was only given 11 minutes against Wimbledon on Monday.
Despite all the manager's hints about Balotelli not fitting into his plans, the striker has remained relaxed as speculation surrounding his future continues to grow. It will be interesting to see if that remains the case as the pressure on the pair increases.
1) The Race For Fourth
Oh boy, Arsenal have really left it open this time (we've said for the past how many years?).The Gunners should still secure fourth behind Manchester United once their injury problems clear up, but obviously there are no guarantees that Arsene Wenger will have an entire squad fit and firing any time soon.
That leaves a tempting window for Southampton and Spurs to sneak in, with both currently sitting above Arsenal in the table.
Saints seem the better bet, owing to their recent recovery in form and 2-0 victory over the Gunners, and also an impressive goal difference of +19, which is ten better than Wenger's side and 17 more than Spurs.
The other advantage Saints have is that they face no distractions in Europe; Arsenal's relatively straightforward draw against Monaco was also a huge boost for Ronald Koeman and his players.
