Alex Keble picks out four key battles ahead of the 11th round of Premier League fixtures, including why Manchester United and Tottenham could both be beaten this weekend...
Football Bet of the Day :
Bournemouth sitting deep and going direct can limit Man United
Bournemouth v Man Utd
Saturday, 12:30
Live on BT Sport 1
Saturday, 12:30
Live on BT Sport 1
On a five-game run without a win and having scored in just one of those games, Bournemouth are likely to approach this match with caution. In two different ways they will probably go against their usual principles; Eddie Howe will line up in a deep 4-4-2 formation that aims to negate Man Utd's emphasis on speed and play long balls forward to catch the visitors on the break. It might just work.
Bournemouth are well organised defensively these days thanks to an impressively disciplined two-man midfield. Shuffling across to block the passing lines, Philip Billing and Lewis Cook keep their two lines of four compact, even though that in turn means Bournemouth offer very little going forward.
It is likely that such a narrow defensive blockade will stop United's biggest threat: the Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial partnership, which picked up again last weekend as the two forwards covered the width of the pitch to link expertly at Norwich.
Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof can be got at, not least because as United's full-backs push forward the centre-backs will be left two-on-two with Callum Wilson and Josh King. Bournemouth will look to hit these two early, because both are strong in the air and confident with their backs to goal. It is easy to envisage Wilson and King holding the ball up long enough to release Ryan Fraser as he runs beyond Ashley Young.
Wolves' shape gives Toure & Doherty advantage over Kolasinac
Arsenal v Wolves
Saturday, 15:00
Wolves' recovery in the second half against Newcastle offers them a route to victory at the Emirates. Nuno Esperito Santo switched from 3-5-2 to 3-4-3 at half-time, moving Adam Traore and Diogo Jota into inside forward positions that helped Wolves swamp midfield in a box shape; the lines from Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho to these two forwards allowed the visitors to work through the middle and release Traore, with Matt Doherty supporting, to dominate down the right.
This ought to work at Arsenal, who continue to stutter badly under Unai Emery.
They are easily ruffled at the moment, and while it is impossible to predict what formation Arsenal will use this weekend any combination in midfield is likely to be too flat to cope with the complexity of Wolves' approach. There is no doubt the visitors will be happy to sit back and absorb pressure for long periods, reducing Arsenal to meandering sideways football, but when Wolves do break out their shape will hurt Emery.
Sead Kolasinac continues to look out of his depth at left-back, regularly getting caught ahead of the play or watching as the ball sails over his head. Kolasinac's erratic positioning hands a clear advantage to Traore's pace and Doherty's overlaps, especially with Bukayo Saka unlikely to offer much support from the left wing.
Perez and Pereira aggression to create big problems for Van Aanholt
Crystal Palace v Leicester
Sunday, 14:00
Live on Sky Sports Premier League
Crystal Palace have collected just eight points from their last six matches, suggesting they are regressing to the mean and, therefore, are not in the race for a European place. By contrast Leicester City are very much here to stay, making them firm favourites this weekend following a 9-0 win at Southampton that will surely give them the psychological edge at Selhurst Park.
Brendan Rodgers' high-pressing football has seen Leicester pinch the ball and score on several occasions this season, and their urgent attacking football is the key to breaking through Palace before they get the chance to form Roy Hodgson's favoured deep defensive shell. This is most likely to happen down Leicester's right, where Ayoze Perez can overwhelm Patrick van Aanholt.
Van Aanholt is often the weak point for Palace. In the 2-2 draw with Arsenal last weekend, he failed to hold the correct defensive position as the hosts dribbled forward, leading to the corner from which Emery's side took the lead.
The second goal was directly his fault. Van Aanholt was caught dallying in possession and then left watching as the ball sailed over his head, with Arsenal scoring from the subsequent corner. Perez twice created goals at Southampton by pinching the ball in the opposition third. It's a mismatch that should hand Leicester the points.
High-tempo Toffees can surprise lacklustre Spurs
Everton v Tottenham
Sunday, 16:30
Live on Sky Sports Premier League
Sunday, 16:30
Live on Sky Sports Premier League
All tactical analysis must take into account psychology, because a well-functioning system requires energetic movement and quickness of thought. Marco Silva is arguably in even more trouble than Mauricio Pochettino, and yet his side's 2-0 win against West Ham in their last home game means Everton will, to some extent, have their tails up on Sunday afternoon. The different levels of confidence in the two camps should mean Everton's tactical approach is coherent while Spurs are caught flat-footed.
Tom Davies' desire to constantly pick a forward pass raised the tempo for Everton a fortnight ago, helping instigate the high-pressing, Pochettino-esque tactics that Silva is trying to create. Alex Iwobi has looked impressive as a number ten, too, his direct dribbling and hard work off the ball creating -along with Richarlison and Theo Walcott - a more assertive forward line in search of Davies' through balls.
If things click as they did against the Hammers, Everton can blow Tottenham away - mainly because Pochettino's team look so jaded. Their central midfield just isn't pressing anymore, instead shuttling hesitantly around the pitch waiting for something to happen. A Davies-led Everton midfield can brush past the likes of Christian Eriksen and Harry Winks, while Everton's aggressive full-back Lucas Digne will surely overlap successfully against the oft-calamitous Serge Aurier.
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