The Premier League continues this weekend with Matchday 24, and Sportsnet will have live coverage of five games:
Saturday, January 20
• Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Chelsea, 7:00 a.m. ET (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific)
• Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace, 9:30 a.m. ET (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific)
• West Ham United vs. Bournemouth, 9:30 a.m. ET (Sportsnet ONE)
• Everton vs. West Bromwich Albion, 9:30 a.m. ET (Sportsnet World)
Monday, January 22
• Swansea City vs. Liverpool, 2:00 p.m. ET (Sportsnet World)
Here’s what you need to know ahead of this weekend…
THE BIG GAME
Burnley vs. Manchester United: The Red Devils inched a bit closer towards Manchester City on Matchday 23, closing the gap to 12 points with a 3-0 win over Stoke. If United is to overturn City’s lead – and let’s be honest, it’s a long shot – they’ll have to keep pace by collecting a win on Saturday at Turf Moor.
Jose Mourinho’s men are unbeaten in their last five road games in the league (with four wins) and have scored at least two goals in each of those matches. Burnley have just one win in their last 24 contests against United in all competitions, a 1-0 win in the league in August 2009.
Burnley will be without injured forward Jonathan Walters (knee).
Chris Wood and Stephen Ward (both knee) remain sidelined, but Canadian international Scott Arfield (hamstring) could return to action. Daley Blind, Eric Bailly (ankle) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (knee) are out for United, but Ashley Young is set to return after serving a three-match ban.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Harry Kane, Tottenham: The Englishman leads the Premier League in scoring this season with 20 goals, and he is just two goals away from becoming the 27th player in league history to score 100 goals. If Kane ends up bagging a brace on Sunday away to Southampton, he’ll hit the 100-goal plateau in 139 games.
SANCHEZ TO MAN UNITED ‘LIKELY TO HAPPEN
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted this week that a deal that would send Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United in exchange for Henrikh Mkhitaryan is “likely to happen.” Sanchez is out of contract at the end of the season, and the Chilean forward’s future at Arsenal has been a hot topic of discussion the past few months. Arsenal hosts Crystal Palace on Saturday.
ARSENAL SELLS WALCOTT TO EVERTON
Arsenal sold Theo Walcott to Everton this week, with the Toffees paying a reported $28 million US. Walcott leaves the Gunners after 12 years, having scored 108 goals in 396 appearances. “It felt like it was time for me to move on,” Walcott said. “It was sad, but it’s exciting at the same time.” This is Everton’s second big signing during the January transfer window, having previously landed Turkish striker Cenk Tosun from Besiktas.
STOKE HIRES LAMBERT AS NEW MANAGER
Nine days after firing manager Mark Hughes, Stoke City replaced the Welshman when it hired Paul Lambert on Monday. The Potters are coming off of a 3-0 loss away to Manchester United on Matchday 23 and currently sit in 18th place and one point from safety. Lambert has been out of work since leaving second-tier club Wolverhampton Wanderers in May, and he previously managed at Norwich City and Aston Villa in the Premier League. Stoke hosts Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
ALLARDYCE REACHES 1,000 GAME MARK
Sam Allardyce will take charge of his 1,000th game as a manger on Saturday when Everton hosts West Bromwich Albion. Allardyce, 63, will join Arsene Wenger, Rafa Benitez and Roy Hodgson as the other managers currently in the Premier League with 1,000 games under their belts. Allardyce has overseen seven Premier League clubs – Bolton, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United, Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Everton.
INTERESTING STAT
In 1996, Manchester United was 12 points behind Premier League leaders Newcastle United after 23 matches, but went on to win the title. United currently trails league leaders Manchester City by 12 points going into Matchday 24.
THE BIG QUESTION
Every week, Sportsnet’s soccer panel will debate The Big Question. Have your say by voting in the poll below:
HE SAID IT
“I don’t see a problem, but this is the first time Morata has faced this situation. Before, if you stay on the bench, you don’t have this type of pressure. So now he has to learn to face this type of situation, move forward and go on. Everyone in Chelsea trusts him.” – Chelsea manager Antonio Conte on striker Alvaro Morata’s current scoring slump.
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