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Richard Morris gets in touch: “A quick glance at Arsenal’s 3 remaining fixtures reveals one banker - Southampton. But it’s away and 3 days before the Champions League final. Their other 2 fixtures - Newcastle & Liverpool are trickier. Lose all 3 and it doesn’t take any sort of unusual results amongst the chasing pack to put Arsenal 6th and out of the CL places altogether. I’m getting the popcorn.”
Twist and turns aplenty ahead …
I watched Forest v Brentford on Thursday and I felt the Bees put in one of the best away performances I have seen all season. Very few teams make things look easy at the City Ground but they were ruthless in attack and barely gave Forest a sniff all game. Thomas Frank described it as 7/10 performance. United should be worried if they reach an 8/10 performance.
“Hello from the skies above Turkey, on my way to Abu Dhabi from Manchester,” emails Bob Boon from 38,000ft. “Hoping to watch Liverpool beat Chelsea while waiting for my next flight to Jeddah. A Man United loss in the meantime would keep me happy above the clouds.”
I am constantly amazed by how far technology has come.
Get in the mood for Brighton v Newcastle with Louise Taylor.
If you need a fix of live action immediately, we have you covered.
John Brewin
It’s quiet so far at a rather chilly G-Tech, mostly because Transport For London’s Bank Holiday weekend has closed off east from west, north from south. Still, a small, fervent crowd greeted the Manchester United players like Taylor Swift dismounting from her limo. That’s the power of celebrity, though there’s a fair few unfamiliar faces in the United team. Eight changes from Bilbao, including Altay Bayindir replacing Andre Onana, not even in the squad. Chido Obi starts up front, Tyler Fredricson in defence. Luke Shaw is captain, and starting his second successive Premier League game for the first time since … answers on a postcard. Brentford are tried and trusted with their selection, to follow their defeat of Nottingham Forest. Is it really three years since that statement win - 4-0 - over United at the beginning of the 2022-23 season? That proved no fluke at all.
Takes a bit of working out that Manchester United lineup. I am backing the back three to be De Ligt on the right, Shaw in the middle and Friedricson on the left. Friedricson has been unlucky to wait so long for a chance. He is seen as a better option to Jonny Evans at the club already but injuries have delayed his breakthrough.
Starting lineups: West Ham v Tottenham
West Ham (5-3-2): Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell, Emerson; Soucek, Paqueta, Kudus; Fullkrug, Bowen
Subs: Fabianski, Soler, Coufal, Ward-Prowse, Mavropanos, Guilherme, Ings, Rodriguez, Ferguson
Tottenham (4-2-4): Vicario; Gray, Danso, Davies, Spence; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Richalison, Tel, Odobert
Subs: Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Udogie, Romero, Van de Ven, Bentancur, Ajayi, Moore, Johnson
Startling lineups: Brentford v Man United
Brentford (4-3-3): Flekken; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard; Schade, Wissa, Mbeumo
Subs: Valdimarsson, Henry, Pinnock, Jensen, Thiago, Mee, Ajer, Konak, Nunes
Manchester United (3-4-3): Bayindir; De Ligt, Shaw, Fredricson; Dorgu, Mainoo, Ugarte, Amass; Mount, Obi, Garnacho
Subs: Heaton, Lindelof, Maguire, Yoro, Fernandes, Casemiro, Eriksen, Amad, Hojlund
Starting lineups: Brighton v Newcastle
Brighton (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan; Baleba, Wieffer, O’Riley; Adringa, Welbeck, Minteh
Subs: Steele, Lamptey, Igor Julio, Webster, Gruda, Gomez, Ayari, Veltman, Howell
Newcastle (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento; Tonali, Guimaraes, Willock; Murphy, Isak, Barnes
Subs: Dubravka, Botman, Wilson, Gordon, Krafth, Osula, Longstafff, Miley, Neave
Preamble
We have three 2pm BST kick-offs in the Premier League. The most significant one comes at the Amex where Newcastle are aiming to boost their Champions League hopes. Victory over Brighton would move them above Manchester City into third, putting further pressure on rivals Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, who play later on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
Manchester United get to follow their barnstorming night in the Basque Country with a trip to the capital. Will Ruben Amorim rest players to ensure everyone is fit for the second leg against Athletic Bilbao? They have a three-goal lead in the Europa League but a picking couple of injuries at Brentford would give Ernesto Valverde a timely boost. The Bees have an outside shot at Europe, too, and after turning over Forest on Thursday will be in confident mood of defeating the 15th-best team in the Premier League.
It is 16th against 15th at the London Stadium, where West Ham and Tottenham are desperately waiting for the league campaign to finish. Spurs also have European glory in their sights and with a tricky trip to Norway to come, they might also wonder if it is time to take precautions. If the Hammers do win, they would leapfrog Spurs and go level on points with Manchester United, which would be a much-needed boost.
Let the fun begin!
