If Aston Villa beat Sheffield United tonight they will spend almost 24 hours at the top of the Premier League, a position they have not occupied since Christmas 1998, almost 25 years ago. Emery doesn’t want to hear about his title chances, but the ‘villains’ will be very helpful in Liverpool-Arsenal on Sunday, with first place at stake. These are the points of interest of matchday 19 of the English league, with these highlighted matches.
1
Aston Villa – Sheffield
Friday 22, 9:00 pm (DAZN)
Unai Emery is comfortable with a nine-point lead separating him from sixth-placed Newcastle. Perhaps in an attempt to calm the noise around Aston Villa, the Hondarribia coach insisted that qualifying for the Europa League “remains our goal”. The visit of Sheffield United, under the Premier, offers a good opportunity to the Birmingham club, the ‘sleeping giant’, to achieve 16 consecutive victories at its stadium and command, at least temporarily, the English league, while waiting for Liverpool -Arsenal .
2
West Ham – Manchester United
Saturday 23, 1:30 pm (DAZN)
Could Kudus and Paqueta cause problems for Manchester United? The ‘hammer’ attacking pair, brilliant against Wolverhampton (3-0) five days ago, will measure the defensive consistency of Ten Hag’s United, whose goalless draw at Anfield eased their crisis of results and calmed down their busy environment. At the London Stadium you will find an opponent who enjoys exploiting counterattacks. United were already beaten 1-0 by David Moyes’ Scottish side in May. United have failed to score in three of their four games in December.
3
Tottenham – Everton
Saturday 23, 4:00 pm (DAZN)
Spurs must deal with the physical might of Sean Dyche’s Everton, who has found a way to exploit the wastefulness of many of his players. They have chained four consecutive victories and removed the worry that had engulfed the Liverpool club after the 10-point sanction. The Toffees are a very tough opponent and their goalkeeper Pickford is a guarantee to keep a clean sheet. When Ange Postecoglou lost another key part of his midfield, French defensive midfielder Yves Bissouma, who will miss four games after his second dismissal.
4
Nottingham F. – Bournemouth
Saturday 23, 4:00 pm (DAZN)
The great show of love from Forest fans for Steve Cooper, the coach who brought ‘confused trees’ back to the Premier League and was sacked this week by owner Evangelos Marinakis, is against his replacement, the Nuno Espirito Holy is Portuguese. Bournemouth pressure Andoni Iraola’s visit to the City Ground in Nottingham will be a tough test for the new Forest coach, chosen for his Premiership experience and his fine seasons at Wolverhampton Wanderers, after being sacked from Al-Ittihad .
5
Liverpool – Arsenal
Saturday 23, 6:30 pm (DAZN)
The great show of love from Forest fans for Steve Cooper, the coach who brought ‘confused trees’ back to the Premier League and was sacked this week by owner Evangelos Marinakis, is against his replacement, the Nuno Espirito Holy is Portuguese. Bournemouth pressure Andoni Iraola’s visit to the City Ground in Nottingham will be a tough test for the new Forest coach, chosen for his Premiership experience and his fine seasons at Wolverhampton Wanderers, after being sacked from Al-Ittihad .
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
