Eight talking points ahead of the Premier League weekend | OneFootball

Eight talking points ahead of the Premier League weekend, featuring managerial reunions and Nottingham Forest’s forgotten men.

Moyes stock soars ahead of reunion with old employers

David Moyes’s relationship with West Ham was always a curious one. Discarded prematurely after his first spell, he returned when West Ham realised their mistake and led the East Londoners to the most successful period of their Premier League tenure.

Consecutive seasons in Europe and a drought-breaking trophy success would, on the surface, appear achievements to earn Moyes iconic status. It did not quite work like that. While respected, the end of his time at the London Stadium was an awful atmosphere as the fanbase became frustrated with a pragmatic brand of football. His exit last summer was inevitable, though West Ham have endured a miserable campaign in his absence.

Moyes returned to the dugout at Everton in January and has seen his stock soar back at Goodison Park. An eight-game unbeaten run is Everton’s longest in the league for eight years and has taken the Toffees above West Ham ahead of this weekend’s meeting.

Forgotten Forest men will want to send England message

Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad has divided opinion, with recalls for ageing names and omissions for in-form talent. Few exclusions have been as criticised as that of Morgan Gibbs-White.

A regular in recent squads, Gibbs-White has been a driving force in Nottingham Forest’s push for Champions League qualification. He has four goals and six assists in his last 14 league games, including a gorgeous cross-field pass to set up Callum Hudson-Odoi’s winner against Manchester City last weekend.

Even given the competition for an advanced midfield role, his non-selection appears strange given some of the out-of-form faces in the squad. Teammates Hudson-Odoi and Elliot Anderson can also count themselves unfortunate.

Seagulls seek City scalp – and Champions League football

After losing at Forest last weekend, Manchester City will want to avoid another setback against a team pushing to leapfrog them into the top four.

Brighton are one of the form sides in the league right now with six straight wins in all competitions. Victories over European contenders Chelsea, Bournemouth and Fulham have taken Brighton within three points of the top four.

Another win this weekend will lift the Seagulls above Pep Guardiola’s side, though history is against Brighton. The South Coast club have never previously won an away fixture at Manchester City – in 15 attempts.

Wolves not out of the woods yet

Wolves have shown steady improvement under Vitor Pereira with seven points from their last five games. A hard-fought draw at Everton last weekend extended their advantage over the relegation places to six points.

However, Pereira will know his team are far from safe. Despite the bottom three all struggling for results, a six-point margin could be caught quickly. Wolves are without suspended talisman Matheus Cunha this weekend and will need others to step up at bottom-of-the-table Southampton. It’s a clash of huge importance for Wolves, ahead of a looming six-pointer with 18th-placed Ipswich in early April.

Evanilson return big for Bournemouth

Bournemouth’s challenge for Europe has stuttered after three without a win but the return of Evanilson has been a silver lining in their dip. The Brazilian missed two months of action with a broken metatarsal but has scored in successive starts against Wolves (FA Cup) and Tottenham.

Signed in the summer in a £40m deal, a return of six league goals appears modest. However, the forward’s all-round game and movement have impressed in Andoni Iraola’s side, for who he has won an additional five penalties. Setting the tone for the press and buzzing with intelligent runs in behind, his timely return can reignite the Cherries’ chase for Europe.

Chelsea need Palmer to rediscover mojo

Given the meteoric rise of Cole Palmer at Chelsea, a dip should have been expected. This, after all, is only Palmer’s second season as a Premier League regular. The 22-year-old’s goalless run extended to 10 games in all competitions in midweek after a blank against Copenhagen in the Conference League.

He’s not scored in the Premier League since January and missed the first penalty of his career against Leicester last weekend. Chelsea have won back-to-back games to improve their Champions League hopes, but this weekend’s trip to Arsenal poses a more formidable challenge than struggling Southampton and Leicester. Enzo Maresca needs more from his talisman in a London derby with plenty at stake.

Spurs must kick on from season-saving win

Spurs saved their season – and perhaps Ange Postecoglou’s position – after beating AZ Alkmaar in midweek. Trailing from the first leg, a 3-1 win in North London booked a place in the Europa League quarter-finals.

Success in Europe will determine how this season is viewed, with the dual chance of silverware and Champions League qualification a carrot Spurs must focus on.

However, Postecoglou will want to ensure the feel-good factor is taken into the international break. After recovering from two goals down to draw with Bournemouth before their continental comeback, a trip to Fulham will be the next test of his side’s new-found steel.

Bruno Fernandes deserves his flowers

Roy Keane might famously disagree, but the plight of even this Manchester United team would be worse without Bruno Fernandes. In a struggling side, he’s often been head and shoulders above those around him.

On Thursday, Fernandes scored a hat-trick as Ruben Amorim’s side booked their place in the Europa League quarter-finals. He now has a record 41 goal involvements in the competition, while no midfielder has produced more goals and assists in UEFA club competition since 2017/18 (61). He’s 24 ahead of the next player on the list, Kevin De Bruyne.

In each of Fernandes’ full five seasons at Old Trafford, he’s recorded double-digits for goals AND assists in all competitions. It’s also now six goals in eight games for Fernandes, who has come alive to ease some of the heat on Amorim. If the midfielder can get the Red Devils over the line in the Europa League this season – and earn a place in next season’s Champions League – it could be the transformative moment of the Amorim era.

Read – The oldest England debutants this century as Dan Burn earns first call-up

See more – The best England XI of players omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s first squad

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