The National Sport’s deputy editor Thomas Woods reflects on the latest from the English Premier League and offers his take on a host of talking points.
Costa is Man City’s best title hope
Chelsea seem certainties to win the title, but there is a glimmer of hope for their rivals Manchester City.
With Diego Costa leading the line, Jose Mourinho’s men are outstanding. Without him, they are just very good.
The Brazilian misses his final game through suspension tomorrow night against Everton, and Chelsea have not been as strong going forward in his absence.
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They drew 1-1 with Manchester City, with replacement Loic Remy scoring, and Saturday’s 2-1 triumph at Aston Villa came despite an ineffective Didier Drogba leading the line.
Chelsea still have bags of talent elsewhere in the squad, particularly in Eden Hazard, but City fans will be looking for glimmers of hope in the title race with a seven-point deficit to make up.
There is a chance Costa misses more games, either through injury or suspension, and with it Chelsea lose his aggression up front.
Throw in a few drawn games which Costa might have turned into victories and maybe that gap disappears.
West Ham deserve more credit
Whenever Manchester United mess up — that is, do not win a game — in the post-Alex Ferguson era, there is such a fixation on what went wrong that the opposition’s achievement often gets overlooked.
United were outplayed by West Ham United on Sunday, yet the post-match narrative has centred, as usual, around Louis van Gaal’s tactics and his misfiring strikers.
But what about West Ham? A team no neutral would turn on a TV to watch a year ago have become an exciting, pacey, attacking outfit. They scored just 40 goals last season, whereas this time they have 36 with 14 games to go.
Liverpool and Manchester City had both been well beaten at Upton Park, so it is hardly surprising that United also struggled.
They seem to be the most dangerous when Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho are paired up front.
Similar players in build, the Ecuadorean and the Senegalese offer much more on the ground than target man Andy Carroll and allow West Ham to attack at pace with a quick passing game.
Carroll, as well as he has done since coming back from injury, is not as good on the ground. Sakho and Valencia started against Liverpool, City and United, and they must be Sam Allardyce’s first-choice pairing from now on.
McManaman a key signing
When the going gets tough in a relegation battle, flair often goes out of the window. That is why it is encouraging to see West Brom signing a player such as Callum McManaman, whom they bought from Wigan in the transfer window.
The winger is an absolute menace to defences down either flank. He was man of the match in Wigan’s FA Cup final win over Manchester City in 2013 with his winding runs into the opposition box.
West Brom are only three points above the relegation zone, and McManaman could be the signing that pushes them to safety.
He already has one assist in one start, and he will create plenty of chances for the likes of Saido Berahino to shoot West Brom to safety.
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